


The Assassins Cry

by Rogue_Mariah_Dare



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-02-24 09:55:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 41,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2577290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogue_Mariah_Dare/pseuds/Rogue_Mariah_Dare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyssa al Ghul was hunting late at night when she finds a woman running for her life. Little did she know that Sara Lance had just fallen off a ship and needs her help. When Sara appeals to the human side of Nyssa, the Heir to the Demon takes Sara back and nurses her back to health. Slowly, VERY SLOWLY, over time Nyssa somehow finds herself laughing at Sara's jokes and thinking of Sara in her sleep. Sara knows that this connection between them isn't normal, it isn't right - what would her parents say if they saw her here? They would be ashamed of her daughter, of this person she's become! .... But this feeling doesn't feel shame filled, it feels like freedom and strength.<br/>This is their love story, and knowing everything Nyssa and Sara deal with on a daily basis, might even a story of their death...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dorker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorker/gifts).



> Comment I really appreciate!

"It's different for everyone," she read, "Some people forget their voices first, or the deep or light shade of someone's eyes... The soft touch of a mother's hand or the way father's tell a story. But, no matter what happened after everything with Ivo, then Slade and  _then_  the League, she never forgot.

"But she's not quite there yet, she hasn't met any of the League Members. Right  _now_ , she's running. Oh god she's running... So hard that with each step she pushes her heels harder into the ground, making a deep impression of her shoes. So quick that the wind that flew by her felt like bullets whizzing by her ears.

"She is not only running to get away, but she is running because she is being hunted. It feels like time is catching up with her, that her breath is short and she'll collapse at any moment. And, she was right: Men were chasing her from behind, trying to kill her. She wasn't a fighter, at all! She couldn't run forever and they would eventually catch up... It was just a matter of time..."

***

She is running. Faster and faster. And she knew that they would catch up, it is just a matter of time. She made the quick decision to go back into the water to give her legs a break, they felt so weak and they were trembling with every step she sprinted. She would jump into the water, after she reached the other side of the Island. The hard and slow journey was made even  _harder_  but she needed it to be quicker. But the journey wasn't.

 _I have done horrible things, but do I deserve this punishment?_  she cried in her head.  _Yes, of course I do... I helped torture people!_

For a while it wasn't that bad, after she got out of the water from slipping out from the frater, she heard the soldiers coming for her and adrenaline kicked in. But, now, after running for such a long time her adrenaline is slowing, starting to sneak out of her system. Her stomach was flipped upside down, her legs were lava and her breathing tight. While her head was pounding, she still heard the cries of the soldiers behind her. Or, at least she thought they were soldiers. She didn't know who they were, just figures running in the shadows.

They shot arrows at her, the same weapon of choice as Ollie, and (honestly) if freaked the hell out of her. Bows need more control, strength; patience, any idiot could hold a gun and an idiot was a lot easier to trick.

Her head might just explode if she ran one more step; she could die at any moment, just like Ollie, but she keep running, and wherever she ran, they followed her like she was in a sick sadistic game. They were shadows in the night, brief bodies she saw and feared.

"I can't," she gasped, "I can't anymore... I can't run..."

She heard the yells behind her - they were getting nearer and nearer and she forced her feet to move. It has to be the hardest thing she had ever done.  _Ever_. She took a couple steps of rest and then she saw him in front of her.

A body strong and lean, full of muscle and eyes that held complex thoughts she couldn't understand. The dark figure was dressed in red and black. His arrows were strapped across his back, bow in hand raised and an arrow pointing right at her.

"Why are you running?" The voice was silky and smooth full of patience.

" _Whoa_ ," she panted and took a closer examination at what she thought was a 'he'.

The woman standing before the girl _looked_ like a male killer but it was a female, which made her shiver more. Black boots, red tights and a cloak that clung to his -  _her_  - body. There was a hostler on her hip that was attached to her belt that held a sharpened knife. An easy hand that was wrapped in black fingerless gloves now relaxed the bow string and rested on the knife casually. Red sleeves disappeared through the arm trains and with the hood up, to cover her face making the most entrancing eyes pierce through the veil and look at her.

"You're a  _girl_?" the victim asked wiping the sweat off her forehead. It was hard to picture a woman so muscular.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," the warrior's words were clipped with irration, that, or curiosity. "Why are you running?"

"Why are you chasing me?" the sweating girl asked, turning the blame back on the righteous woman before her.

"Because you were running," the woman before the girl stated simply.

She thought about that answer, and shouted exasperated, "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Well it makes perfect sense to me," the warrior says putting a hand on her hip. "You... You're all wet."

The girl lick her lips, her throat was so dry, it could have been transformed into sandpaper.

"Thank you for stating the obvious," the girl quoted the woman with a small twitch in the corner of my mouth. The girl didn't know why she was almost smiling. The figure before her had a knife in hand that says it was made out of steel to do murderous things.

"Were you on that ship?" the woman asked curiously glancing in the general direction of where she saw the frater crash.

"Umm..." The girl wondered if she should tell her. "If I say 'Yes' will you give me an easy death?"

"No," the woman said taking a second to blink and understand that even after the girl almost drowned, ran about ten - fifteen miles - give or take - she was still cracking jokes. "I'm not going to kill you at all."

The girl didn't believe the woman. If the warrior wasn't planning on killing her, she wouldn't be holding a knife.

"Were on the boat?" she asked again.

"Whose asking?" the girl finally got around to asking the woman's name in a loud tone. She would like to know the name of her killer when she went to hell. She wouldn't be going to heaven - not after helping Ivo with his human experiences.

The warrior pulled the veil away and pushed down her hood, revealing soft and seductive eyes that were full of broken pieces and deception. At first glance, they were hard and unreadable, but the longer you stared, the more colors and things you could notice about the woman's eyes. The woman had been slightly kissed by the sun, and her hair was drenched in the blackness of night. Her lips were pressed into a thin line from thinking hard and had a clenched jaw that completed her oval face.

"I am Nyssa, daughter of Ra's al Ghul; Heir to the Demon," the woman casually told the girl her proud title.

 _Nyssa - what kind of name is 'Nyssa'? The name of a warrior goddess?_  The girl thought.

Nyssa walked up to the girl and raised her eyebrow. Nyssa was obviously wondering what the girl's name was, that was clear, but the title 'Sara, daughter of Starling City's Detective Lance; jobless' seemed a little unworthy.

Sara tried to put her name as scientific as she could. "Sara, daughter of Quentin Lance, College Major in the intellectual and practical activity, encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment."

***

"You said all that?" Oliver looked over at Sara, "That's a mouthful."

"Shut it, Ollie," Sara laughed and turned the page thankful she wrote it all down.

  
***

"You're a scientist?" Nyssa asked Sara understanding every word Sara had just said. Probably from all the books and education she has received over the years.

"More or less," Sara rolled her eyes and swallowed. She put a hand on her hip to keep her from hunching over. "Ow!" she yelled pulling her hand away from her stomach to stop the pain. "It's... I'm...."

Rust and salty smells burned into her nose, and thick dripping blood painted her hand.

"You're injured," Nyssa stepped forward eyeing Sara's side deciding weather or not to help her.

Sara realized now that since the adrenaline was rushing out of her system, her vision was very blurry and she was starting to black out.

"I don't need to be told that," she whispered crashing onto the ground, the world dissapearing from her view.


	2. Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Nyssa grow closer...

Sara stired in her sleep, rolling onto her side she screams, “AHHH!” and jolts up. Blood was smearing from her hip down her leg. Cuts and bruises are small except the big five inch pad on Sara’s stomach that was stopping the blood from spilling all over her body.

“Bitches nicked me…” She thought about all the arrows that were shot at her,  _A couple must have grazed me. One, in particular…_

“My brothers and sisters are barley female dogs, Sara…” Nyssa comes over to the bed in a red silk bathrobe with different designs of flowers and dragons on it. She looked like a diva killing machine, or a Russian model.  _I’m little jealous…_  Sara think to herself.

A towel was in Nyssa’s hand drying her hair and she dropped it in a hamper coming to sit by Sara. “You need to lay back and rest, you aren’t well,” Nyssa glanced at her wound.

“Maybe that’s because a freak with a bow and arrow  _shot_  me!” Sara tried to move but Nyssa put a surprisingly firm hand on her chest forcing Sara down.

“I will give you two choices: Either lie down peacefully and rest, Sara, or I can make you lie down and rest –  _forcefully_ ,” she added with a cocky smile. “Like I said, you’re choice,” Sara reluctantly cracked a smile and laid back down looking up at the ceiling.

The pain felt a little less when Sara was lying down, she’d just stay here for a minute and rest…  _Bitch and yell later,_  Sara's wound told her.

“So, uh, if you’re friends aren’t ‘female dogs’ what are they?” Sara asked looking at Nyssa rake her fingers through her thick hair.

Nyssa was silent thinking about that answer. Sara decided that it must have been a complicated answer because it took Nyssa a while to tell Sara, that, or Nyssa didn’t want to tell Sara.

“Life,” Nyssa’s final answer was short as she got up and walked back into the bathroom. She was in there a while and when she returned, her long black hair was combed, down touching at her waist was the bowl of steaming water that Nyssa had carried to her bedside table that Sara was lying on. She dipped the cloth into the water and put it on Sara's forehead.

“’Life’? That’s the answer you’re going to give me?” Sara thought,  _That’s really cliché answer_.

“Yes, that’s a good enough answer to give a strang-” Nyssa pulls her hand back and looks down at Sara and just stares into her eyes for the longest time. Sara couldn’t decipher if she was disturbed by Nyssa's penetrating stare or if it was just her nerves of her being a stranger that almost took her life.

“Why are you helping me?” Sara sits up again and tried and examine Nyssa's features.

“I… I do not know,” Nyssa said putting the warm cloth back onto her skin pushing Sara back into the million dollar sheets that could have been a better heaven than the after life itself.

When her hand reached out to Sara, she grabbed it. Nyssa jerked back at first and gave her a glare that told Sara to let go, but before Nyssa could say anything, Sara quickly got out, “Thank you.”

Nyssa's pull went slack and she was examining Sara's eyes with so dark of eyes they could be mistaken for the color black. She was staring at Sara again, and Sara finally realized that Nyssa had a staring problem.

“Usually when someone says, ‘Thank you,’ the other person would say, ‘You’re welcome’…” Sara gave her an honest smile. "I know you guys tried to kill me and all, but you could have left me for dead, so thank you."

“No one has ever said that to me before,” Nyssa blinked and Sara sat up yet again. “Thank you,” Nyssa whispered quietly.

“You’re welcome,” Sara replied back groaning in pain when Nyssa pushed her down again. “Why do I always have to be on bottom?” Don’t ask Sara why she said that, the thought just popped into her head and kind of just rolled off the tongue. Her eyes went huge, and her mouth looked up at Nyssa and Nyssa was looking at Sara in return. “That was random, I’m sorry, I guess I become a little hysteria when I’m shot at with arrows.”

“How many times have you been shot at with arrows to know that about yourself?” Nyssa asked with a short chuckle.

“Oh, no,” Sara said with a straight face, “this is the first time.”

That’s when Sara heard the most beautiful sound… Nyssa just burst out laughing! Not even laughing, a laugh is something that is short or something small, but I’m talking about a teenage high school, spitting milk out of your mouth, embarrassing - but a joyous sight to see - convulse  _giggle_ … Her laugh was a full body response: Feet stomping, arms waving, thighs slapped, torso rocking laugh. Free flowing tears were coming from her eyes, I could even hear her heart rate increase!

It was like bells, loud and soft all at the same time. Loud because her laughed filled the room, bouncing off the walls and coming into Sara's ears as another perfection, but soft because it was sweet and smooth to listen too sort of like a lullaby.

She was breathlessness and by the time Nyssa caught that breath and air was retrieved into her lungs, Sara was laughing just like Nyssa was. Sara could tell that it had been a while since Nyssa had laughed that hard, and it was infectious. Sara couldn’t help but laugh along with her.

It was an instant of total helplessness; a brief physically intensity, they could have died, and Sara certainly felt the pain of death in her stomach wound.

“Ow, ow!” Sara complained, “Stop laughing, please,  _please_  stop laughing, it’s making me laugh, and laughing hurts,” she giggled clutching her stomach.

Nyssa immanently dropped all fun and her hands flew to Sara's side checking the bandage. “I’m so sorry, it won’t happen again.”

That made her chuckle some more and Sara laid back, “Please laugh again when I’m better. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in a while.”

Nyssa reached for the side table and picked up a brush, “I don’t believe you… You’re laugh is much more beautiful than mine.”

Sara smiled polietly, “No, now  _that’s_  debatable.” Nyssa didn’t argue with Sara, she brushed her hair back out of Sara's face. “Oh,” Sara moaned, “oh…”

“Did I hurt you?” Nyssa pulled back but Sara reached up and took her wrist again.

“No, no, please, I know you’ve done so much bringing me here and having me sleep in you’re bed and having you stitch me up but don’t stop. That feels amazing… You’re giving me tingles,” Sara sighed and closed her eyes. "I haven't had someone brush my hair in ages. Feels foreign almost." Sara swallows and says in the silence that followed her words, “So what do you do besides ‘Life’?”

“That was a pretty accurate answer. In life, bad things happen to bad people,” Sara open her eyes to look at Nyssa's serious face. "I am that bad thing.”

“Nothing about you could be bad,” Sara said sure of herself. “If you were evil then you wouldn’t have been so kind and let me stay here. You wouldn’t be brushing my hair, the first sign of affection that I've had since...”

Nyssa knew that some people needed some privacy and some secrets were better left forgotten, but Sara made her feel like secrets weren't a neccesity. Nyssa asked looking at Sara's falling expression, “What happened?”

Sara gave Nyssa the only answer she had: “Life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment!


	3. Meeting Marcus

“That is the answer you’re going to give me?” Nyssa asked tying up her hair quickly.

“Yes,” Sara smiled realizing they were doing a lot of repeating each other. “It’s a good enough answer to give a stranger.”

Nyssa’s mouth twitched up and that’s when a knock came at the door.

The door opened a crack and a man whispered from the other side, “Princess?”

 _Princess?_  Sara thought,  _I mean this is a huge room but I didn’t think she was a Princess.... I'm in presense of royalty... I feel underdressed..._

“Come in, Marcus, please, say, ‘Hello’ to my new guest,” Nyssa waited for him to enter into her room (very large room) and he was dressed in a fine black outfit that Sara recognized.

“You’re…" Sara struggled to get up - grasping that he was a serious threat. "You’re one of the men that shot me!” Sara sat up but winced so laid back down. Marcus looked down at Sara and glanced at Nyssa. "What are you doing here?" Sara asked looking at Marcus. He was on the buffer side of things: had broad shoulders, a musuclar form and strong chin that he held high.

Sara wondered what Nyssa's and Marcus's connection was. Brother and sister, friends... With benefits? Sara don’t know why but the last one didn’t sit well with her. She swallowed and relaxed a little bit when Nyssa touched Sara's head in a careful gesture.

"Don't sit up, you're wound is a flesh wound but it's still serious," Nyssa turned to Marcus and noticed that he looked dissaproving.

"Who is this?" Marcus asked giving Sara a devious glare. "I didn't know we were opening a half house for wounded women."

Nyssa stood and stepped up to Marcus with cold icy eyes. "Excuse me?" she asked like she didn't catch what he said. "Say that again?"

"I asked who this is, Nyssa-"

With quick and efficent force, Nyssa hand reached out and backhanded him, Marcus was caught off guard and with a swift kick to the his knee, Marcus fell onto Nyssa's expensive clean polish tiled floor.

"Nyssa!" Sara yelled surprised at what had just happened before her eyes.

"How dare you," Nyssa spat, "who do you think you are to order  _me_  of all people around? I don't take orders from you, Marcus, that is the other way around. She is here as a guest,  _my_  guest,” Nyssa clarified like that would make such a difference. “And she is here to get help and we  _will_  help her, am I clear?"

Marcus was on the ground, staying there not because the pain was so overwhelming (he didn't feel it actually) but out of respect. Nyssa was the Princess, she gave the order, she had the connections; Nyssa was the strongest  _and_  the fastest.  _Not_  Marcus. He wasn't even her second, just the man that admired her (one of many) and wanted her to ditch her beauty rest during the night time.

Nysa stood tall and fearless, looking at Marcus like he was an ant and she was the boot. "Am I understood, Marcus? You will treat her with respect, the respect she  _deserves_... While I'm demanding things, I will add to the list that you will never get out of line and question my authority again. The consequences won't be in your favor."

Sara was surprised that Nyssa thought such highly of her since they only just met and she is wounded.

"What are you doing?" Sara forced herself to sit up and pushed herself to her feet. Sara had heard what Marcus said, and obviously Marcus wasn't a fan of Sara, but she was still going to help him. Sara took a half of a step trying to limp to Marcus's body on the floor but her legs gave out.

When Sara cried out, Nyssa immediately retracted her form of a warrior and went to Sara's aid, helping her bacback to the bed. Nyssa touched her hair and laid her head on the soft pillow.

"I told you to stay," Nyssa instructed Sara. "Don't move, you'll do something worse to yourself."

"In my defense," Sara laughed through the pain, "I didn't clip myself with an arrow in the first place..." Sara begged, "Please, I know that he's acting like a douche, but don't hit him again, I don't mind being called names. It's alright."

Nyssa gave Sara a shake of the head, "I won't have my guests insulted. I won't have you insulted, Sara. It's not alright." Nyssa turned back to Marcus after covering Sara up with the thick quilt.

Marcus rose up slowly, wondering if Nyssa would strike him again. He started at Nyssa and Sara with a coldness - almost like he was dead. Marcus took a guess that Sara didn't know about what their day and night job required them to do.

"I didn't know the League of Assassins' helped people," Marcus hissed feeling defiant.

Sara eyes darted to Marcus and back to Nyssa. Surely he was kidding, someone so beautiful and caring couldn't kill people.  _That can't be true,_  Sara thought.  _Not Nyssa, not someone who is kind has helped me when I'm in pain. Nyssa isn't an assassin, not a million years…_

"We don't kill people for enjoyment, Marcus!" Nyssa yelled looking like him like he had to be a special kind of stupid not to realize that.

"You..." Sara was speechless. "You kill people?" Sara's eyes went wided looking at Nyssa with shock in her eyes. Sara felt like her heart break, her trust betrayed! Sara waited for the fear to hit her like a ton of bricks, the shaking terror of the Princess of Assassins. Nyssa was an Assassin after all, Sara waited to be afraid of her.... but she just  _wasn't_  for some reason. It was actually the exact opposite. "You... You're an assassin?"

All Sara could think about was how warm and caring Nyssa had been to her, how Nyssa had protected her honor when Sara couldn't or didn't  _want_  to for that matter!

Marcus was standing enraged for some reason, almost like Sara had stepped in on some precious territory. Nyssa stood in front of Sara like a shield or a stone that would protect her against all odds.

Nyssa quickly glanced back at Sara, her eyes soft for a moment but then goes hard once again. "We kill Drug Lords, and murders, and people that the law and justice won't or can't touch, not because we like it," Nyssa informed Sara. Nyssa turned back to Marcus and said in a stern voice, "You should hate the killing, that's why we don't kill first and threaten later. But, if it's not the cops, or the law, or anything - or any _one_  else - then it'll be us," Nyssa turned her back on Marcus, not wanting to look at him anymore. "You came here for a reason, why?"

Marcus cleared his throat and said sloppily, "We have another case. Would you like me to bring you the file?"

Nyssa nodded and dismissed him. "I'm sorry you had to hear that," Nyssa whispered to Sara, "I didn't want you to."

Sara shook her head, "No, no, it's okay." Nyssa looked away from Sara's eyes, feeling ashamed but Sara's hand reached out and lifted her chin. "I'm not afraid, Nyssa..." Sara was trying to define how she felt since she didn't know just yet herself. "I, well, I kind of think its brave," she admitted.

Nyssa's eyes became doubtful, " _Why_  would you think that?"

Sara explained, "It has to be scary bringing justice to the unjust." She thought long and hard about it, "It's not fair, either, all those bad people out there shouldn't get to live when so many good people die. I think you're brave because you have to face the danger, rush of adrenaline every day."  _How scared and broken Nyssa must be on the inside,_ Sara thought but then looked at Nyssa.  _She doesn't look scared or broken..._

“Danger might follow you home and destroy your family, friends, lover, but you still do what you for the greater good,” Sara creased her eyes together in thoguht. “I wish I could be that noble."

Nyssa was silent, and Sara could barely hear her whisper as soft as the wind, "I've never looked at it that way..."

"It is a more positive way to look at it," Sara giggled and poked Nyssa's shoulders.

Nyssa tucked a hair behind Sara's head, "It's the way I'll look at it from now on..."


	4. Story

Days after that event, and many, many other ones filled with giggles and smiles and tightly shut secrets that were trying to be pried open with a tire iron, Sara was still resting and healing up. She was healing fast, Nyssa would give her that, but it was not lightning speed and Nyssa wish she would be. She was starting to hate it when Sara would cough and hold her breath to not give away she was in pain. Nyssa would especially hate it when Sara would wake up screaming out in the middle of the night for an Oliver.

Nyssa remembered the first time that Sara jolted up, sweating and crying and shaking with so much fear that it was almost inhuman.

 _“Sara!”_  Nyssa flung the blankets off her couch, up at a notice moment, and ran to Sara’s side.  _“Sara, it’s okay, it’s okay; no one here is going to here to hurt you.”_  Sara’s head was flinging all around the room, her hair sticking onto her forehead and in front of her eyes.

 _“I know, I know, I’m okay… I’m okay, I'm… I'm…”_  Sara sputtered with indescribable terror. Her body was shaking and convulsing with an unatural look to it.

 _“Why are you screaming if you know you’re alright?”_  Nyssa asked quietly not understanding Sara's words.

Sara cried through the tears, she hid her eyes in her palms and her whole body tremored with defeat. She moaned,  _"To make myself believe it…”_  

Nyssa thought that Sara was very brave to have told her that. Nyssa knew that she wouldn't have told Sara is she had asked, she would have thought it made her look weak. Nyssa couldn't stand to see Sara cry, Nyssa just couldn't look at her poor helpless body look like it was having a seizure.

“ **No _one_** _will_ ** _ever_** _hurt you again,”_  Nyssa grabbed Sara’s shoulders trying to hold her steady, her mind didn’t know what to say to make Sara feel safe, but her heart did.  _“I won’t let them!”_  Nyssa added forcing Sara’s eyes to peer into hers.  _“I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again, Sara, I swear it.”_

 _“What if something happens to you like what happened to my friends? I’ll be weak just like I am now, Nyssa,”_ Sara’s tears stopped pouring as Nyssa’s flawless finger tips wiped them away.

 _“You’re not weak Sara,”_  Nyssa climbed onto the bed Sara was on and set Sara's body down on the bed. All this movement wasn't good for her wound.  _"You're one of the strongest people I've ever met._ "

" _Yeah, right,"_  Sara sniffled.

 _“Even when you are crying and it is obvious you are not alright, you still try and convince me that you are, you’re spirt is strong, it is full of energy waiting to be used, and I’ll teach you,”_  Nyssa said while changing the pad on her stomach to obsrob Sara's blood.  _“I’ll teach you how to be stronger than you are, but only if you believe you’re not weak.”_

Sara nodded and took a deep breath and tried to steady her racing heart,  _“I’d really like that Nyssa, thank you.”_

The corner of Nyssa’s mouth switched up,  _“You’re welcome. Now, get some sleep.”_

Sara looked up at Nyssa's face and watched Nyssa cover her cold skin with the warm covers. _"Could you stay with me?"_

Nyssa smiled and nodded, _"Yes, of course. One day... Will you tell me who this Slade Wilson is?"_

Sara flinched at hearing his name but she nodded. _"One day,"_ she confirmed.

Given that Sara didn’t feel safe, and Nyssa didn’t know this Slade Wilson was that Sara would cry out in her sleep about, she would always sleep on the side of the bed that the door to protect her; she just told Sara that it was because if something were to ever happen, that would be the quickest exit escape.

Now, Sara could now get up and walk around on her own (for the most part) and lay back down on the bed if she was careful. Nyssa gazed at Sara from her bathroom seeing the show CSI Miami playing. Nyssa looked at Sara wince at the parts where they would cut a persons’ skull open or do something way too gory that even Nyssa would have a normal time with.

“I’m so sorry, Sara,” Nyssa said having Sara look at her with curious eyes, “but I’m afraid I must leave you.” Nyssa didn’t like saying that she would have to leave Sara’s side, it was something that she didn’t look forward too since a lot of her fellow brothers and sisters had problems with Sara staying her at her home.  _Why_  they had the problem, Nyssa wasn’t sure, but she did know that if they touched her, or so much as threatened her, she would personally skin them alive.

“What?” Sara had her eyebrows creased together in wonder. “Have I done something wrong? Why are you leaving?”

Nyssa’s eyes went huge, “How could you think you have done something wrong? You have been… Been kinder to me than anyone I have ever known, I’m not leaving to hurt you, I swear it, Sara,” Nyssa put a hand on Sara’s leg that was under the covers. “It’s just that some…  _business_  has come up and I’ll be back in just a few short days.”

“Days?” Sara thought that days have just turned into an eternity. With Nyssa here, she has felt so safe, so protected. She still had nightmares but they weren’t as bad as they have been in the past. “Where are you going? Who are you going to?” she asked.

“Don’t say it like that, please Sara," Nyssa didn't like the way Sara's face fell. "It makes it sound like I am choosing someone else over you…” Nyssa had never felt so alive in the past couple days that she has spent with Sara. Being here and not hurting Sara, but  _helping_  her and being the only person Sara could rely on? It made Nyssa smile knowing that her presence did effect Sara - she no longer tossed and turned in the night. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, I promise.”

Sara nodded, looking away, “Take your time, Nyssa.” Sara didn't mean to brush Nyssa off, she knew that Nyssa's job was important and she wanted justice to be delievered in full to the man that Nyssa was going to punish.

Nyssa felt a jab to her heart, and her voice cracked involuntary looking at the only person she could just be Nyssa with. All the others she knew had some kind of bar Nyssa just had to meet. Nyssa would have to be the leader to the Demon or the greatest fighter, or the strongest daughter; with Sara, she just was Nyssa.

“Please…” Nyssa’s eyes fell, “Please don’t hate me, Sara…”

Sara noticed the difference in Nyssa’s voice and she glanced at Nyssa's brown almost black eyes. “I could never hate you Nyssa," she leaned forward but the pain stopped her from going to far. "I’m sorry, I just… I guess I depend on you now, because when I look at you, so beautiful and so strong,” Sara struggled to keep the emotion out of her voice, “I realized that I’m not those things and  _that_  is why my friend is dead.”

“You’re friend isn’t dead because of you, Sara, from what you’ve told me, he was a brave soul that stood up for you and for that he has my thanks,” Nyssa gave her a weak grin. “I don't know if this will cheer you up, but do you want to see my target?” Nyssa didn’t know why she asked, but Sara’s face lit up and she nodded.

They read it over together, and when it was all said and done, Sara glanced up at Nyssa. "You're going to stop this man?"

"Give him a stern friendly warning and if he doesn't comply in the twenty-four hours we give him, then he's going to be barried in the West-Peace cemetary," Nyssa looked down at Sara. "How are you not scared by all of this?"

Sara didn't answer, just touched the foriegn woman's lips, “You have the slightest bit of an accent, what is it?”

“A little of Arabic,” Nyssa was surprised that Sara could hear it. Not many people did unless Nyssa pointed it out.

“Can you teach me?" Sara asked wanting to learn suddenly. "Arabic, that is?”

Nyssa laughed, “Yes, when I get back I will, I promise… But until then,” Nyssa handed her a book filled with her favorite stories that her father would read to her, “this is my number one favoritve story out of all books I have ever read.”

Sara opened the dusty engraved cover, “What’s it about?”

Nyssa summarized, “It’s about a warrior, her travels and the road she had to take to become a fighter. She falls in love with a woman – her teacher actually – and she has to deal to either save her family, or save her lover.”

Sara imminently started reading, “Which one does she choose?”

Nyssa raised her eyebrows and when the knock this time came onto her door, she was expecting it. “Come in, Bruce,” Nyssa climbing off the bed and faced Bruce with a simple expression.

“Good morning Nyssa,” Bruce was an old friend, valuble too. He quit the League once, but came back again... eventually.

“Good morning, Bruce, meet Sara, the woman that you will be looking after for while I’m away,” Nyssa’s fingers ran through Sara's hair quickly and stepped away from her.

“I don’t need a baby sitter, Nyssa," Sara smiled honestly. "I’ll be fine without you here to take care of me."

Nyssa gave Sara a glare telling her not to argue, “I know you don’t need one, but I’ll feel better knowing that you’ll still have protection even if I’m not here.”

Sara looked at Bruce and he smiled warmly at her. She rolled her eyes and noticed that he was dressed in the same attire as Marcus. She wasn't going to be warm and cuddly to anyone that resembles that man until she has reason to act otherwise. “Are you just going to stand there and be quiet or will you actively involve yourself in conversation? I am a woman, and I do have social needs since Nyssa will be gone from me.”

The way Sara said it almost made Nyssa think that she had some sort of romantic interest in her, but she knew that wasn’t possible. Social needs wasn't the first thing that popped into Nyssa's head.

Bruce laughed a husky laugh full of emotion. “I like her, Nyssa... a lot.”

“Look at that Nyssa?” Sara asked looking at her savior, “At least one person in your deathly League likes me…”

Nyssa noticed that she liked the name of her Leauge a lot more when Sara was saying it, than anyone else. “Everyone will, once you start my lessons and they meet you,” Nyssa looked at Bruce and motioned toward the hall out to where all the other room’s where.

“Nyssa,” Bruce cleared his throat trying to lower his voice low enough so no one else could hear, “what are you doing with her?”

Nyssa hit Bruce upside the head playfully, “Why does everybody think I’m going to kill her? She  _wants_  to train, I didn’t force that down her throat; I saw a girl in need and I helped her, is that really hard to believe?”

Bruce chuckled, “You know the only reason I am here right now is because you are leading the Demon. I  _hate_  the killing but we are doing some good here… I just don’t know what she is doing here. You are almost acting that you care if she get’s hurt?”

“Assassin’s don’t care,” Nyssa hissed, “we don’t feel emotions…Well, you do, but that’s because you’re Bruce and for some reason you think the rules don't apply to you.”

Bruce shook his head, “I saw you smiling in there, this girl is sparking something in you." He crossed his arms, certain, "I can see it…”

“Then you’re blind,” Nyssa claimed dismissing the subject. Bruce knew that if he pushed too hard on Nyssa that she would sooner or later punch back probably harder than he did… “I need you to stay by her side, at all times even sleep with her, she has nightmares so she might toss and turn in the night. I want to know everything that happens, understand?”

Bruce nodded. “You care for her don’t you?” Bruce was hesitant in saying, “She’s… she’s extremely lucky and rare, Nyssa, to earn any kind of affection from you.”

“On occasions I’m affectionate towards you,” Nyssa pointed out not seeing his point.

“That’s because I took a grenade for you," Bruce reminded her. "What did this Sara do?” Bruce asked the unasked question. “I think she’ll physically be fine without you for a few days. I’ll see you when you get back,” Bruce turned and left leaving Nyssa wondering what Sara did do to earn her affection.

Did Nyssa really care?


	5. Ta-er al-Sahfer

Sara leaned her head near the crack in the door to listen to Nyssa and Bruce talk. This position was rather uncomfortable on her stomach wound, but Sara could suffer for a little while longer. She wanted to learn what Nyssa wanted Bruce to do.

"I saw you smiling in there,” Bruce whispered on the other side of the door. “She’s sparking something in you, I can see it..." Bruce said slowly almost like he was afraid that Nyssa would hit him like she did Marcus. From what Sara knows about Nyssa so far, she probably would strike him if he offended her.

"Then you're blind," Nyssa's voice was a little hard; Sara could hear the denial in it. "I need you to stay by her side, at all times and even sleep with her, she has nightmares so be prepared to get up and calm her down. I want to know everything that happens, understand?"

Bruce observed, "You care for her don't you?"

Sara didn't know it, but, deep within her soul shook with the smallest delight.

Bruce sputtered, "She's... she's extremely lucky and rare Nyssa, to earn any kind of affection from you."

"On occasions I'm affectionate towards you," Nyssa disagreed.

"That's because I took a grenade for you," Sara almost laughed along with Bruce and Nyssa. Sara didn’t know why she wanted to laugh, it wasn’t very funny, and probably happened. "What did Sara do?"

Bruce turned on his heels and left Nyssa standing out in the hallway for a good minuet. Sara hobbled over to the balcony and sat down in a chair once she knew nothing else would be said. She tried to act casual when Nyssa came in, almost like she hadn’t heard anything. Sara ran her fingertips over a hardbound cover book.

Nyssa walked back into her bedroom, keeping her breath even and her acting normal. Nyssa was looking at Sara resting on a chair in the balcony, Sara's greasy but beautiful blonde hair was waving in the light breeze as Sara kept reading.

"Sara?” Nyssa broke herself out of her daze. “I'm leaving in a little while..." Nyssa walked out into the balcony and took a piece of Sara's hair and twirled it around on her finger. "Do you need anything? Some water drawn up for a bath? You've been wanting one for a little while but you haven't been able to bend very well into my tub. I apologize, I shouldn’t have had it requested to have it been built so low."

“I don’t mind, it’s kind of gross, but I’ve been through much worse,” Sara closed the book and handed it to Nyssa. Sara’s hair was so greasy - it was starting to itch like crazy. "I think I'll need some help, though," Sara didn't know why but the thought of Nyssa giving her a bath did excite her in the slightest way. Then, that excitement was replaced with disgust – Sara was so skinny that you could almost see her ribs. Nyssa had been trying to fill her out over the time she had been here, and Sara has been looking better, but not by much.

"Of course," Nyssa was nervous, she didn't know why but she was. "I'll draw it up right now..." While Nyssa was pouring the warm water in the tub, Sara started to undress.

When it was time for Sara to dip her toes into the steaming water, Nyssa found it harder than the usual to look away or at Sara's eyes while she was bare. Not because she was so bony, but because she was so beautiful. Her curves stood out more now than ever, the supple dip on her back... Nyssa gritted her teeth and looked at the floor. She wanted to respect Sara more than anyone else, but Sara in general was making it hard with the batting eyelashes, and the cute smiles. Nyssa gritted her teeth again and focused on something else.

"Help?" Sara asked embarrassed about not being able to get in herself. Sara gave Nyssa her hand and when Nyssa came over, she took it willingly. Nyssa helped Sara’s feet climb into the tub and Nyssa slid her hands into Sara's armpits to lower her body into the water. Nyssa found it hard just to do that, and not touch her any farther, though, the reason wasn't known to her.

She clenched her teeth and watched Sara dip her head under the water, soaking her hair along with the rest of her body.

Sara wiped the water from her eyes and asked Nyssa, as she was escaping to the other room, “Nyssa?”

“Yes, Sara?” Nyssa turned back and saw Sara try and cover herself up.

“Would you read the book to me?" Sara whispered fidgeting in the tub.

Nyssa swallowed and nodded, going back out and grabbing the book Sara was looking at earlier on the balcony. Nyssa also grabbed a chair so she could sit down comfortably.

Nyssa looked at Sara wondering if she was ready to listen. When she gave Nyssa a nod, she began to read from the book, "’Life... It's a funny thing, sometimes measured in time or in the lives of the people around you. It's hard, scary, and painful, and that's the reality of it all, but what surprises me the most is the amount of confusion it can bring. It's simply indescribable.

"'Life has coincidences, unbelievable destinies sitting and just waiting out there to be twined with others when the time comes," Nyssa looks at Sara's entrancing green eyes. She's never seen such eyes full of bright colors and dark streaks. Nyssa looks away and back at the book, "There are great debates between friends, family, random people, and even the strangers too weather life is set in stone, if destiny is real, if it's all just...  _magic_. But the truth of the matter is that we are all connected despite who believes this and who doesn't. In fact, we all so connected that I do think fate is real.

"'Even though I don't spend a lot of time not thinking about death, I do think about the future and fate and life. One of the things I have come to believe is that a unique fate is placed upon each of us; every human. A fate that is promised to one person and one person alone. Some people call this destiny a gift, or a curse, I haven't decided which I consider mine to be, I think most of my destiny is confusing'," Nyssa nodded her head already relating to the character again.

"'Destiny calls to each of us, and whether we like it or not, some destinies are just bound to take a turn and be labeled as 'Complicated' and 'Different.' I don't understand why I am the life that has to take up that role, but I am. One destiny - my destiny in particular - is one full of danger and a hell of a lot of pain, but also one filled with love. A different kind of love than the normal, so different, I don't even understand it yet, but I know I don't have to as long as we are together.

"'There's a point in everyone's life, where time just stops, where everything freezes and the scene before your eyes just flows into slow motion and disappears. I have a few more of these moments in my life more than yours because I've been trained by my teacher, best friend, and even lover to kill people..."

Nyssa reads with ease, one of the things she's learned to do and more than that, enjoys to do. In the pages of a book, she could find herself lost, but whenever the book is finished and she places it back up onto the self, she feels lighter.

Nyssa periodically glances down at Sara and each time Nyssa catches her eyes. Nyssa thought that this book was suddenly doing a good job at describing her life.

At the end of the fifth chapter, Sara was so peaceful and drugged full of Nyssa's voice that she started to slip asleep after washing her hair.

Nyssa smiles at how Sara's body looked healthier under the water, and Nyssa knew that the couple days that Sara has been here, she has gained a few pounds. While Sara was asleep Nyssa felt a little guilty for staring so she touched Sara's arm to wake her. Sara wouldn't wake and Nyssa started to panic the slightest, but her even breath was reassuring.

Nyssa drains the tub, and dries her body off. Sara was so thin - unhealthy so - it was easy for Nyssa to pick her up. Nyssa laid Sara under the silk covers and covered her growing-back-to-normal-size body.

Nyssa read to herself for a while, and there was a knock on her door.

"Be quiet," she instructed to whoever was entering. "Sara is sleeping," she whispered and stood up when she realized who it was. She discarded the book onto the chair behind her and glanced at Sara, feeling like she suddenly need an excuse as why a woman was in her bed.

"Hello Nyssa," he came in and glanced at Sara. Nyssa choked, and when she tried to give an explanation, he shook his head. "Did you know I had to hear from everyone else, but not you that a woman was staying in your bed? Why?"

"I... I guess I was afraid you would force me to turn her away from my aid,” she whispered kindly using her sweet voice to penetrate that thick amour. “Forgive me? I acted foolishly," Nyssa looked at Sara to avoid his eyes.

He took a step forward and saw Sara lying under Nyssa's covers, naked. "There is nothing to forgive, Nyssa, but next time there is a guest in our home, I would like to know about it, understand? Especially if she has the potential I know you see in her,” he laid a hand on his daughter’s shoulder and she nodded, looking up at his face.

"Of course, father," Nyssa smiled at her hero. "I will tell you when I house another guest in your home. I'm actually thinking of buying her a place she can call her own so that she feels like she belongs."

Ra's Al Ghul looked down at his daughter, "You're just like you're mother when it comes to the health and comfortably of a female."

Nyssa looked over at her father with a queer expression. "Father?" she touched his arm, wondering why her mother was brought up. Ra never talks about her,  _ever_. Nyssa’s mother died when Nyssa was little and even when Nyssa begged and  _begged_  to know something about her mother, Ra would rarely tell her. She would always go to a family friend to know information, Mad Dog, but even he would rarely talk about her. When Nyssa was young, on her birthday, she would always exchange a kill of a dead body for information, it was almost a bargaining chip.

Nyssa has learned this so far: Her mother was young when she met Ra – really young, such as sixteen. Her mother had ran into Ra at the library outside of Nada Parbat. Her mother was the one to carry on the al Ghul title and when her mother fell in love, married Ra, he was invited into their secret circle to train and be the fiercest warrior yet to live; also leaving him Heir to the Demon in Nyssa’s mother’s wake. Her mother had black eyes and black hair. Her name was unique; Syra. Syra al Ghul. When Nyssa’s sister, Talia, second birthday rose Syra fell slightly ill. Everyone was afraid that Syra wouldn’t get through the other pregnancy that she was in. Nyssa died during childbirth, but thankfully the doctors had revived her to let her grow into a warrior and a strong healthy baby. Her mother, however didn’t get revived…

Ra smiled over at Nyssa and said, "You are leaving soon,  _Shaquille Rashaun_ , you better get going... When are you coming back home?"

"A few days," Nyssa gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek. "Please don't kill Sara, father,  _please_?” Ra gave her a strange expression and Nyssa explained, “I see her going far in my training sessions."

"I would never do that, Little Warrior," her father said and left for the doorway. Ra paused at the door way to admire his daughter’s affection towards this blonde broken girl. "You care about her, Nyssa, I would never kill someone that has finally become you're Black Canary."

"My Canary?" Nyssa questioned holding her father from walking out on her.

Ra smiled deviously over his shoulder and when he did that, it was usually never good. "It doesn't matter who you fall in love with my Little Warrior, my  _Shaquille Rashaun,"_  he used her nickname for Nyssa that he made up a long time ago. "Gender is something that doesn't matter when two souls collide in fiery passion. Why does it matter? Love is love, you are my daughter and I love you.”

“Father, I don’t love-“

Ra eased her worry, “A father has two things to worry about in life,  _Shaquille Rashaun_ : One, that you're safe and I know that you will always be; two, that their child finds love in their life."

Nyssa shook her head, "But I don't love her..." Nyssa muttered confused, "I didn't think that I could… that I could love anyone. Love… I thought love was a weakness?”

“It is,” Ra assured her, “but it is the only weakness worth having.” Ra laughed huskily, "Look at her, Nyssa, she's changed you in some way, I can see it... I don't know what she's changed, but she has changed something." Her father puckered his lips and sent a fast kiss her way, "You need to get going, your team is waiting."

Nyssa waved to her father, and before he left, he asked the question, "Everyone gets a new name when they join this family. I think Canary will fit her well." Nyssa didn't know if she was comfortable with her father's tone, if it was threading and deceiving, or if he was being sincere. But, she did know that he thought Nyssa loved Sara.

 

Nyssa walked over to the bed and put a hand on Sara's forehead brushing hair out of the way of her sleepy eyes. She whispered with a curious smile, "Sleep well,  _Ta-er al-Sahfer_... My Canary."


	6. Chapter 6: Don't Label It

The days without Nyssa passed by in a blur. A very slow -  _slower_  than slow actually - blur where every single detail stood out to Sara.

The only time her mind wondered off from Nyssa was when she was with Bruce. He was a good man, funny and caring. He has good knowledge about this place Sara had learned to be named Nada Parbat.

Sara had tried everything else to get Nyssa off her mind, she even tried reading the book Nyssa had read to her before, but it was useless without Nyssa to explain it to her. It wasn't in English, and even though Sara knew that Bruce could read Arabic, it was something only Nyssa and Sara shared. Bruce wouldn't read the book, but he would tell Sara stories. Sara listened as close as ever, but words sounded different coming from Bruce's lips than Nyssa's. She still enjoyed his stories, but the way Nyssa talked was like the ice on a blistering hot day, or like honey on bread. Sara shivered just thinking about Nyssa and her voice.

Sara wasn't just imaging this feeling between them, this chemistry, this  _electricity_ ; it wasn't in her head. Nyssa was day dreaming the whole way to her job; Nyssa was dreaming about Sara  _period_. Night after night, sun up; sun down, Sara was in Nyssa's head. Nyssa was slacking off, she almost got herself and one of her team members killed; it was horrible! Nyssa was mad that she didn't have her head in the game, that she couldn't concentrate and that some person was controlling her thoughts!

... But she wasn't mad at Sara. How could she be? It wasn't Sara's fault that Nyssa was off her game, and it almost seemed impossible to be mad at her Canary. Every time Nyssa thought about Sara's long blonde hair, or her dazzling smile Nyssa herself would grin.

Nyssa would wake up in the middle of the night fearing that Sara was a dream, could something that beautiful be real? Surely  _Sara_  could be; she had to be! Nyssa was so eager to get back home that she was starting to irritate her league. They would giggle and laugh behind her back, knowing that their Princess had finally fallen in love, some were sad and angry that Nyssa was taken off the board to play with, but none of them would show it.

The days passed and while the sun sets were heavenly with golden waves of fury falling like over the land, they were nothing compared Nyssa's long black hair. And even the dancing stars that would shine in the night - Sara didn't know how many they were in the world until now - that were dancing across the sky... they were  _nothing_  compared to Nyssa's eyes. She could find Nyssa in everything, even the food she ate; she wondered if Nyssa liked the same food that Sara did.

Sara had so many questions about this place but she had so many more questions about Nyssa. Sara wanted to know her savior, everything there was to know about Nyssa. So, in Sara's trickery, she made up a game. Every three questions about the land, the scenery, the history here, whatever came to the top of her head, she would ask two questions about Nyssa. This way, she didn't seem like a creeper... Too much...

Bruce had taught her many things in Nyssa's absence, even how to thrown a knife and a decent thrust to the face. She met many people while Nyssa was doing God only knows and Sara thought that for a bunch of assassins they were pretty nice and decent people. That thought made Sara more worried than actually meeting the assassins, but all was fair in love and war, right?

She recalled the names with ease: Al-Owal, Anya, Bethanie, a man named David, a nice woman named Mad-Dog, Fadir, a woman called December, and Whisper and Willow - they were twin sisters.

_... And lastly the famous Ra's al Ghul..._

The day she met Nyssa's father was the day Sara came in from the long day of walking and was pretty tired. Bruce had just changed her badge on her stomach, and found little to no blood on the white cloth. He changed the bandage with skilled healing hands and helped Sara back to her room. Bruce argued and tried to shadow Sara all day, but she pushed him away and said to go have some down time for himself.

Sara walked through Nyssa's mansion that was built into the mountain and followed Nyssa's empty footsteps back to her room. When Sara opened the door, she imminently noticed the man on the balcony with his back toward Sara. He was looking out over the edge of the city; Sara took a breath and her fingers slid into her back pocket where the knife was.

Sara knew that not everyone approved of her being here, and she was trying to be ready and prepare.  _Trying?_  Yeah, trying against trained assassins, so what?  _Trying and failing would be more like it..._

"Sara, is it?" The voice was raspy - just like Oliver's but much more danger and authority filled. She hasn't made a sound, but he still knew she was in the room with him. How?

Sara stood up straighter, showing that she wasn't afraid of this man. Sara hasn't been afraid of anyone since the Island, since Slade, more like it.

"Who are you?" Sara asked, feeling for the knife she stole that was tucked in her pants. "What are you doing in here?"

"Aren't you a little canary?" Ra's stepped into the room, suddenly aware that Sara didn't know who he was. He almost chuckled since everyone knew who he was and it sometimes got old and aggravating.

Sara smiled deviously, she wasn't strong right now; she just needed to appear strong enough to take on this man in front of her. Which she had less than a slim chance of doing since he could probably count her ribs just by looking at her. Well, perhaps not. She had been filling out nicely over the couple of days that Nyssa has been away.

Sara mocked bitterly, "At least I'm not a murder."

Ra's face changed; he didn't like that word. 'Murder'. He didn't like it at all but he kept his calm coolly. "Being called a canary was meant as a compliment," Ra assured her.

"Oh, I know," Sara smiled kindly, "thank you for that, but my words were meant as a dis of the  _highest_  order."

Ra admired her spunk, her attitude that gave her the freedom of tongue. Ra deiced that he would be mocked no longer, Ra smiled at how Sara's face fell when he said, "Not many can get away with insulting me in my own home."

Sara's mouth went dry and she took her hand off the knife, she didn't see the use of it anymore. One of the many questions asked of Bruce was the parents of Nyssa. One was Ra's al Ghul, and the other went unnamed.

"You..." Sara laughed nervously, and stuttered, "You're Nyssa's father? You're Ra's al Ghul?"

"The one and only," Ra held out a hand for Sara to shake. "Nice to meet you, Sara, and welcome to Nada Parbat."

Sara swallowed and smiled guilty, "I'm sure that's a complete and utter lie after I just - it's an honor to meet you... and live," Sara cleared her throat, trying to dig herself out of the grave she buried herself in.

Ra laughed easily shaking off her foolishness. "No harm - no foul," Ra firmly shook her hand and noticed the strength of the handshake. "How has your stay been? Comfortable, I hope."

"Yes, very, I've never been in better hands," Sara looked around the room and envied Nyssa's life for a moment. "Thank you for letting me stay here, I know it must be a little infuriating to have a stranger in your home and mess up the flow of your family."

"'Mess up the flow'?" Ra asked with a creasing brow. "What do you mean? Has someone threatened you in my home?" Ra's tone told Sara that he was furious, she noticed that his jaw was clenched in anger.

Sara was speechless for a moment deciding whether or not to tell the truth. If she did tell Ra, then Marcus might die, not that it'd be a  _sad_  thing, but it would be bad. And if she lied, then she could die from lying to the famous Ra's Al Ghul.

Sara leaned forward and whispered, "How should I answer this question?"

Ra's lips turned up right in a half grin. "How about instead of telling me, the next time it happens, I'll know about it?"

Sara nodded her head in agreement, finding that was fair.

Ra place a hand on Sara's back, guiding her toward the balcony that Sara was starting to become familiar with. "I hope you don't mind my forwardness, my dear," Ra sat them both down, "but I wanted to ask you some questions just to know who is sleeping in my daughter's bed."

Sara was quick to deny that fact, "I'm not - it's not really like that; I'm just sleeping there, not with her or anything you..." Ra raised an eyebrow like he wasn't following her, that or it didn't matter that she was sleeping with his daughter. "Never mind," she muttered. "I'll tell you anything you want to know," Sara said trying to change the subject, "as long as I get the same courtesy - to a certain point of course."

Ra sat down on a couch outside looking out over the village that was running beneath them. "Explain?" he asked, not  _ordered_  but asked.

"I want to know Nyssa, like you want to know me. I want to know whose bed I'm sleeping in," Sara nodded and relaxed sitting by him - actually feeling comfortable. She didn't see what the big fuss was about the terrorizing Ra's Al Ghul, he was kind of nice - as nice as a father can be whose lost his wife and trained his daughter to be some kind of kick ass warrior. "Before Nyssa saved me, I was shot with an arrow by one of your men... When I woke up, I was prepared to try and fight my way out of whatever prison I was in, but instead I woke up here, in your daughter's bedroom. Of all places that she could have taken me, she took me into her home, the place she lived most... When I woke up... Nyssa just walked in and I just wasn't angry at her like I should have been. I want to know why that is, that's never happened to me before..." Sara looked at Ra, "It's kind of hard to explain."

"No need, I understand," Ra smiled again at Sara and nodded for her to continue and ask the first question.

"There are, of course, things that you won't answer - too personal, too private, don't know - I understand. I have a lot of questions about Nyssa," Sara smiled sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind?"

Ra looked into Sara's eyes. He had a secret power that only his League knew about. He could tell when someone was lying or being honest, no strings attached.

"No," Ra said truthfully seeing a cord of honesty there in the green of Sara's eye. "No, not at all, please, go ahead."

Some of the questions Sara asked were very personal, but she started off with the simple question like favorite color and the song Nyssa listened most too. By the end, Sara's mind was reeling with all this new information and she answer the questions that Ra had with the best efficiency she could manage.

"If you had one choice: To go back to your family, or stay here with Nyssa, which one would you choose?" Ra asked his final question and Sara shifted uneasily. This wasn't the most personal question he had asked, that one was how many times Sara had been sexually active and Sara had blushed so hard she thought her head would fall off.

"I think... I think..." Sara wet her lips and looked out into the beyond. "That's a trick question, isn't it?" Ra shrugged in wait for her answer. "Which would you chose?" Sara asked looking back at Ra and his startled face. He wasn't prepared to be asked that question; he wondered if he should answer.

"If you had a l-" Sara choked on the word "love" she didn't know why she would say that since she's not in love with Nyssa but she was about to anyway. "If you had a friend here that saved your life, would you stay and be with them? Or go back to the family that thinks you're dead just to die the next day possibly? I can't sleep at night, I can barely eat and after all of this..." Sara swallowed, "Back at home I'm a screw up, the girl that dropped out of college; I'm a sister that makes the wrong choices. Here I can be someone else."

"I think you know the answer, to all of the questions I've asked and not yet to ask; you are just afraid to admit them," Ra nudged Sara's shoulder playfully.

"You're a really nice guy, Mr. Ghul, I don't see why everyone is afraid of you," Sara admitted with a light shrug. The sun was setting behind the land and that meant Ra and Sara had been talking for a few hours. The only bad thing about Ra that Sara could notice was how over protective he was, Ra was worse that Sara's father, and being a cop's daughter that said something.

"Just wait until you join the League, I'll hold you to that phrase right there," Ra chuckled and Sara couldn't help but groan. "Do you even want to join?" he begged to ask that question.

Sara thought about that question too, and she asked, "Would Nyssa train me?"

"Of course, you'd also have many other instructors but she could help you the best," Ra smiled knowing that Sara was contemplating this war inside her. "You come from a place that put's everything in perspective. With labels and if you aren't in the right category - you're judged," Ra didn't know how much truth tea he was spilling. Sara thought,  _Ain't that the truth_...

"I suggest you look around, Miss Lance. We are a League of Assassins' and we kill and skin people alive when they do innocents harm. We do the worst things imaginable and still we have to be the most humane people - well, most of us," Ra looked over the balcony and admired his city from above in the mountain. "It's part of training, keeping the conscious even with the killer. We are the most dangerous people, yet lovers we still are. We don't hold labels whether it's 'Looser' or 'Champion' there is always room for improvement. Whether it's 'Christian' or 'Pagan', religion is something that a person believes in to keep them going and if they are in my League - then I know they are going in the right direction. Whether it's 'Male' or 'Female', both sexes can hold their own and deserve respect."

Sara nodded understanding what he was saying. She agreed whole heartedly. Finally, he whispered, "Even if it is... Oh," he searched for the right word, "what do American's call it? 'Bi' or 'Straight'?" Sara laughed at the American words coming from his Old English tongue. "Love is love, it doesn't matter if the soul is in a female or male; love is passion and it's rare. It's something we should all hold onto as tight as we can - because once it's gone..." Ra shook his head from personal experience, and stood up. "Once it's gone... it's lost and frequently we can't ever get it back."

Ra looked over at Sara and she wanted to look away but it was like Ra was telling her what these feelings inside Sara meant.

Sara whispered, "Are you telling me that I'm B-"

"Don't label it,  _Ta-er al-Sahfer_ ," Ra instructed. "If that's what's getting in your way - a name of a group that is usually looked down upon - then don't label yourself. I know that Nyssa doesn't," Ra slipped in there that Nyssa was also interested in female's maybe more than males.

"You don't care?" Sara asked standing up next to Ra.

"That my daughter prefers a woman's company to a man's?" Ra threw his head back and laughed, "Why would I? I don't care if she finds a monkey to love for all her life, however strange that might be, love is rare and she needs it more than you think. And, she needs it with you," Ra looked at Sara to see her confused face.

"Love is a secret, Miss Lance. Everyone knows what the secret is except the two who are in love, and they miss it completely. I don't care if my daughter loves you; I admire your strength and curiosity of our country. You are starting to grow on me for some reason that I do not know of..." Ra admitted, "I see that you have changed my Little Warrior; you have become a Canary to her soul and you are getting through to her that no man or other woman has before in the past."

Sara smiled,  _Is he giving me his permission to date his daughter?_   _'Date his daughter'? What would Mom and Dad say if they found I've gone b - don't label it,_  she reminded herself. _Go with what the heat it telling you, trust your gut._

"What I care about is if you hurt her," Ra pulled Sara from her thoughts and the light hearted man that was laughing with her a few moments ago was gone. He was replaced with a dark look of death and haunted, sleepless nights. "My Little Warrior is stronger than bullet proof - thank my Lord - but when she does open up her heart, and you shatter it? You'll wish you would've died in that ocean... Am I understood?" Ra asked politely like nothing happened.

Sara was a little afraid for her life for a moment, but then she nodded. While Ra walked to the front door leading out of Nyssa's room, she shouted, "Why don't you care if Nyssa... Where I come from everyone cares about that, I don't understand, who could you just  _not_  care?"

"Here in the League we go with what our instincts, our gut, with what our  _soul_  tells us," he explains. "We trust those feelings and we don't doubt them. If you know yourself well enough, you're heart in this situation won't be wrong. Don't second guess yourself, Sara, you'll know what is right when the time comes."

Sara watched Ra leave, eating up all this information about Nyssa and suddenly, she couldn't stand it any longer, she had to see her.


	7. Chapter 7: Red lacy bra

Nyssa over looked the barring waters the ones that led her to her home. She was pretty confident that she could swim faster than the boat was going, but it was only a guess.

"Princess?" Damian, age fourteen - the youngest of recruits ever to pass the Assassin's Test - cautiously took a step onto the yacht's deck. "I see that your head is over flowing with troubles?"

Nyssa turned toward him, prepared to put the young soldier in his place when she saw that the boy gave her a crooked smile.

"Perhaps a game?" he suggested.

Nyssa attempted a smile put her hand on his back as he came to stand in front of her, looking out over the railing. She played with his hair - the only one that could - as he stood in front of her, perfectly relaxed.

"What did you have in mind, Young Campion?" Nyssa asked.

"Archery?" Damian knew that always cheered her up. "You know it will get your mind off her," Damian smiled even though Nyssa scowled at him with eyes that could kill.

"What do you know of Sara?" Nyssa inquired gripping his hair rather firmly and pulling it back so that his eyes met hers.

The movement of Nyssa's squeeze didn't hurt, it just made the young man uncomfortable. When Damian was a child, his father would abuse his, beat Damian until he was covered in bruises and blood. When Damian tried to fight back, his father would grab his hair and throw him around like useless baggage. Damian ran away from home the moment he could and surprisingly found himself in Nada Parbat where he met Nyssa. More like ran into... He was stealing from a local high Lord in the marketing place. The same time Nyssa was walking down to meet the Lord he stole from, Damian ran into her and went for an escape. Nyssa was surprised that such a small boy such as himself had stolen from a Lord. Most boys would have been afraid to even go near one, but Damian wasn't. Nyssa wondered why and eventually invited Damian into her home to be trained. For this reason, Nyssa is the only person who is privileged to touch his hair.

Damian grabbed Nyssa's hand and ducked under her arm in the opposite direction, telling her to let go without words. Nyssa, understanding the message, did so knowing touching Damian's hair meant something special to him. Hair was a language almost to the League: You cut it short so that it wouldn't be used as a weapon against you, or, you grew it out for people to know you have a certain power and high standard to meet.

Damian knew that Nyssa wouldn't apologize, he didn't really want one anyway right now.

"Well?" Nyssa repeated her first question, "What do you know about Sara?"

Damian looked away, suddenly becoming shy. "It's not a bad thing, Princess," he said instead of answering her question, "why do you treat it so?"

"You wouldn't understand, Damian... I don't even understand, how would you? No, you wouldn't understand..."

"You do," Damian touched her shoulder. "You do know, you just don't want to admit it to anyone - including yourself."

Nyssa frowned, "When did you grow so wise?"

Damian smirked lightly, "Around when you started to decrease in wisdom."

"Alright, I'll play your game," Nyssa patted Damian's back and he smiled broadly.

Whenever they were abroad from home, Nyssa would usually shoot tennis balls into the water and her league would jump into the water to go get them. It would be something to do to pass the time, to loosen things up...

... And win money...

No one was as good a shooter as Nyssa, in fact it was a lot harder to hit those tennis balls than anyone thinks. It was a cliché, stupid thing to do, but it made the time pass by quicker for assassins who wanted to get back home to their families.

Damian rounded up the troops as Nyssa went to retrieve her bow. Her bow was in the room that she was staying while she was a board the ship. She had been making arrows the night before and decided it was time to put them to good use. As she walked back up to the highest level of the yacht, she passed the many numerous people that were stripping down and diving in already naked. After sharing sweat and blood with the League, no one really cared if you jumped up and got naked in the room. You saved their life, they don't mind if you want to strip in front of them.

They swam around until Nyssa had set up the ricochet machine. Nyssa loaded an arrow and waited as a tennis ball was dropped into the machine.

"Pull!" she ordered letting the arrow fly and collide with the green fuzz ball off in the blue sea.

Sooner rather than later, Nyssa got bored and had instructed for three balls to be thrown at the same time. Once that got boring as well, he would have to guess which direction the balls would be gliding in and shoot the arrows that way. That kept Nyssa's attention for a while since it was challenging.

Bets were made, and as time passed the blindfold that covered Nyssa's eyes was abandoned. She couldn't keep up very well; the assassins' were throwing - by hand as well as machine - more tennis balls which required more archers and not just Nyssa.

"Got it!" Lawrence cried stripping off his shirt and planning to dive in.

Dragonfly said watching Jade push Lawrence into the water, "He don't got it..."

Nyssa laughed huskily and set her bow down, "I'm going in." Nyssa striped off her shirt just as Lawrence had took off his.

"Whoa, Nyssa, put all that back in!" Jade laughed covering her eyes playfully. Nyssa wriggled her eyebrows and bent down giving Jade a better view of her cleavage spilling out of her red laced bra.

Some of the guys whooped and hollered from the lower decks but Nyssa ignored them with trained patience and control. Besides, her eye was on someone else.

Nyssa climbed up onto the top balcony railing and balanced on it until she was ready which wasn't fairly long.

The leading archer on the deck of Dragonfly. She yelled, "Pull!" while pulling back her string in wait for the tennis ball to fly by over the sea. Dragonfly released her bow string, letting the arrow glide with efficient accuracy.

Nyssa dived into the water, the H2O tightening around her body and drenching her in the warm water known as the Bay of Bengal. The weather that was outside the water was hot, sweaty and sticky. The luke-warm water was refreshing and made Nyssa grateful for the cold.

As Nyssa swam through the water, nothing was holding her attention, of course her subconscious slipped back to Sara. Nyssa had been away longer than planned, it's been two weeks and three days since Nyssa had seen Sara and this game was a good distraction for Nyssa, especially when Nyssa had the blindfold covering her eyes. Nyssa always enjoy being with her league, she really did, but right not she would have been more joyed to see Sara's face.

Shore was coming in sight, Nyssa was trying to keep her excitement down as she swam towards the remaining tennis balls. She had collected three already. Putting two in her pockets, one in her hand and there was only one left. Whoever got this green ball of fuzz would win the couple hundred Renminbi ( ** _~Chinese money~_** ).

As Nyssa climbed back onto board, she ordered everyone to their stations to get their things. Nyssa suddenly could wait to get off this boat and on the road again toward Sara. Nyssa knew that it would take a couple days drive back to Tibet, but she didn't care; it was one step closer back to her Canary.

Sara had been counting the days.  _Two weeks and one day, today..._  It seemed like forever without Nyssa here.

"Come on, Sara, let's get you packed," Bruce knocked on the door and opened it, seeing Sara sitting outside on the couch looking at the sun set.

"For what?" Sara asked standing up and walking over to a man she considered a recent friend.

"Well," Bruce sighed, "I asked Ra if I could meet Nyssa at Chittagong to help pick her up; she'll probably need another car with all the weapons she had packed, and she usually likes to pick up a couple souvenirs along the way."

Sara looked away, "You're leaving?"

Bruce couldn't decipher weather she was sad or disappointed. "Yes, and you too. Let's go..." Bruce threw Sara a backpack for her to put clothes and things in. "I thought I would go to the trouble and grab you a nice outfit to welcome Nyssa home in."

Sara's face lit up with a smile brighter than the sun. "What!?" she sang happily. " _How_? What did you do! Aww, God, thank you, Bruce!" she cried running into his chest for a warm friendly hug.

"What else did you expect me to do? You're my charge and I can't let you out of my sight," Bruce shrugged the favor easily. "It'll be a boring ride, so pack some entertainment - a couple days' worth, actually - but you'll get to Nyssa sooner than waiting for her to get here so that's a plus," Bruce patted Sara's back and handed her a bag to put her clothes in.

"I don't care if it's a weeklong car ride," she kissed his cheek and snatched the bag out of his hands egger to get packing. "Thank you!" Sara threw clothes in a bag, unsure whether they matched or weather she had enough underwear and bras, t-shirts and pants and outfits to last her.

They were off into the sun set before Sara could grab a tooth brush.

Two days later was when Sara spent a couple hours in front of the mirror, picking her outfit and doing her hair correctly. Her bangs were growing out to become more of a face frame and her body filling out well, too, Sara was happy to have her chest back to almost full growth as well as her thighs.

"How much longer do you think she'll be?" Sara asked pacing - she was actually starting to wonder if that boat pulling up to shore was actually moving at all.

"I think that she'll be here a lot sooner when you make it known to her that you're here," Bruce had a pretty good theory that Nyssa was impatient to see Sara just as much as Sara was impatient to see Nyssa. "I think we should lend a hand helping with the bags, don't you?"

Sara looked back at the man who was leaning casually against the car, "I think we should, too." Sara and Bruce had been waiting by the car to surprise Nyssa but Sara threw that plan out the window when she took off running down toward the dock.

Her fingers straightened her casually loose dress once more to make sure she looked alright. She started to fidgeted with her clothes and the strands of her hair.

Should I call out to her? What should I do? Just stand here? Bruce did say that she would move a lot faster "Nyssa!" she shouted toward the yacht that was slowly inching its way toward the shore.

Nyssa was trying to find her dry shirt that she shucked off when she heard her name being called. She ignored the voice at first, thinking that it was her imagination again. The first time her mind repeated Sara's voice saying her name was in the midst of a very heated moment between the sheets. Something that will never happen, Nyssa added in her thoughts.

"Nyssa!" Sara yelled again.

"Princess?" Jade called for Nyssa to the edge of the deck, "You're being called by a Blonde Barbie."

Nyssa ignored her comment about being a Barbie, she knew that Sara wasn't. "Sara?" Nyssa held onto her shirt but dropped everything else. "Sara!"

"Nyssa!" Sara's face lit up seeing Nyssa dripping wet, chunks of hair clinging to her skin... and half naked.

"Sara, I'll be right there!" Nyssa threw Sara her shirt which almost fell into the water but Sara caught it at the last second.

Just hearing Nyssa's voice would have been enough for Sara... but she was greedy, suddenly she wanted to be in Nyssa's arms and be held onto tight. Nyssa dove into the water and swam as fast as she could toward the docks where Sara was waiting in a short black flare dress.

Nyssa jumped out of the water and grabbed the deck's wood pulling her up with no problem. "What are you doing here?" Nyssa asked running over to Sara.

"You're not happy to see me?" Sara's face fell in disappointment, she was surprised that Nyssa didn't feel the same way she did. Sara didn't expect these feelings of... friendship... a very  _strong_  friendship to be one sided.

Nyssa smiled and grabbed Sara's chin reassuring her worries. "I have never been happier to see someone in my whole life," she surprisingly admitted. Sara went to hug Nyssa but Nyssa held up a hand with her other one she took Sara's. "Oh, Sara, you're dress is so beautiful and I'm soaking wet."

"I don't care," Sara removed her hands and tucked her arms under Nyssa's for a hug. The fact that their hands fit perfectly together didn't escape her. Sara said above a whisper, "I've been waiting two weeks and three days for this, I think I can handle a little water." Nyssa was slightly taller than Sara but that was okay since Sara got to rest her lips against Nyssa's neck for a quick kiss. "I had absolutely nothing to do while you were gone, without you there it felt like an eternity," Sara wasn't a very open and Nyssa was worse -  _the_  worst - with telling anyone her feelings. It was funny though, with Sara telling the truth and being honest almost came naturally.

"I know exactly what you mean, only I had to concentrate because my life was on the line," Nyssa gave a short laugh.

"What!" Sara pulled back out of Nyssa's embrace concern lacing her voice, "Are you okay? I was worried, but I thought that it wouldn't be that serious, I can't picture you in danger; you just seem so strong..." Sara examined Nyssa to see if she was alright.

Nyssa's wet hand touched Sara's blonde hair, appreciative of Sara's comment. "I'm perfect now that I get to see you. Thank you for being here, Sara, it means a lot."

Sara smiled softly, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it." Sara walked around Nyssa and squeezed out her wet soaking black curls. "How about next time I come with you, hmm?" she asked.

Nyssa huffed a laugh, "Yeah, as much as I would love to spend the time with you...It's too dangerous, Sara. I can't have anything happen to you, I'm sorry."

Sara nodded understanding, "Well... I've been thinking... Do you think that if you trained me that it would still be dangerous for me to go? After I train, I could become a member of your League and then-"

Nyssa shook her head and turned to face Sara, "Just because I know how to fight doesn't make it any less dangerous, Sara... At any given moment a member of my family could slip up and be gone from us - just like that."

"Back in Starling City my father was a police man, I know the dangers of taking arms, Nyssa. Trust me, I do... He put me through self-defense lessons, but I never really practiced after I went to college. Don't you think I'll be in more danger if I don't learn more, don't practice? My father would always say, 'better sore than sorry'," Sara took her hand and looked into Nyssa's big black eyes.

"Sara..." Nyssa swallowed and tried to put her words as easy as she could. "I can train you, and maybe before you return to Starling you will come along... But you will  _never_  become a member of my league," Nyssa said her voice holding her authority tone that meant her decision was final.

"Why?" Sara asked curiously.

Nyssa looked at her crew and she wanted to get home. Also she didn't want to answer that question and thought that with time, Sara would forget that question.

"Later?" Nyssa asked politely, "I need to help get my things off the boat."

Sara smiled and gave Nyssa a firm nod, knowing that she was trying to put a grave to this conversation but this wouldn't be the end. Sara would make sure of that...

"Can I help with anything?" Sara kindly asked handing Nyssa her shirt. Sara was wondering why Nyssa was shirtless, but she pushed away the feeling of it not bothering her. She shouldn't be bothered, Nyssa was a girl and Sara was a girl, they had the same stuff. Sara had seen plenty of women naked, Sara was on the swim team when she was in high school and everyone would strip in the lockers.

But... This feeling inside Sara wasn't casually not being bothered that Nyssa was shirtless, it was being excited at seeing Nyssa shirtless. Sara stared at Nyssa, even though Nyssa had been haunting her thoughts for days, Ra popped into her mind in that moment.  _Don't label it_ , he said in her thoughts as Sara was trying not to focus on the color of her bra. Sara failed... It wasn't an epic fail, either... The red lace push up bra with the black background color was not escaping Sara's attention.

"No, but thank you," Nyssa kissed the top of Sara's head and turned on her heels to leave and gather her things off the boat. Nyssa turned to look back one more time at Sara, she was looking down into the water, a sad expression on her face. Hurt from my words? Only if she knew that I was helping her... Nyssa thought. Suddenly, the feeling of Sara's kiss burned into Nyssa's neck.


	8. Chapter 8: No good for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa tells Sara why she can't be an assassin.

Bruce had gladly offered to ride with the other Assassins to give the girls some time together. Sara and Nyssa had been in the car for a couple hours when Sara was starting to get tired. They could have continued, but Nyssa didn’t want Sara to sleep in an uncomfortable position while she drove.

The roads looked different to Sara when she was driving with Nyssa than when she was driving with Bruce. The streets seemed to be filled with more beauty, more history, more tales; more culture.

Nyssa was telling Sara the history of the country when she pulled up to a local motel for the night. The other Assassins continued on, wanting to get home to see their families.

Nyssa grabbed both their bags in one load – Sara offered her help and tried to take one of the bags but Nyssa was too stubborn.

“Trust me,” Nyssa watched Sara open the door for her, “it’s light weight.”

“Show-off,” Sara rolled her eyes playfully. “No need to boast anymore, Nyssa, I already know I’m imperfect enough.”

Nyssa stopped inside the motel and dropped the bags. Turning toward Sara, Nyssa ordered her words to bounce back into her mouth. With a heated gaze, Nyssa said, “I never,  _ever_ , want to hear those words from your mouth again. Do you understand, Sara?”

Sara gulped and nodded, some unexplainable feeling pumping through her veins. It wasn’t fear… No, definitely not fear, Sara knew that Nyssa would never hurt her even though the look in Nyssa’s eyes was completely one look of darkness and rage. What Sara was feeling was somewhere along the lines of suspension.

Nyssa declared, her eyes softening the slightest, “You are more perfect than perfection itself. You’re pure, innocent, and your strength is unmeasurable. Don’t ever say you’re not perfect, Sara,  _ever_.”

Sara gulped again as Nyssa eyes burned into her own. “O-Okay,” she sputtered not knowing what else to say.

Nyssa smiled and touched Sara’s hair, “Say that you’re perfect.”

Sara shook her head under Nyssa’s hand. “You might think I’m perfect, but I’m nothing compared to you. You’re honest, smart; more beautiful than the stars…Not just on the outside, on the inside too,” Sara touched Nyssa’s chest in direction of her heart.

Nyssa lived inside Sara’s touch in that moment. A struggle came over Nyssa was she tried to keep her eyes open. “Thank you,” Nyssa smiled sadly knowing that wasn’t the truth but was over joyed that Sara thought so.

“You’re welcome,” Sara’s dimples showed on the side of her cheeks.

They’re hands fell from each other as Nyssa turned to talk to the front desk clerk to get Sara and herself a room.

Sara stared at the landscape of the “common motel” she was in. The front entrance looked extravagant, a chandelier was up above their heads and tile floors of patterns and swirls was below their feet. Plants were off to the side of the room and marble staircases led upstairs toward the rooms. Sara could never have afforded a room here in a million years but she knew that Nyssa could. Nyssa looked like she fit right in with this world, rich, famous, good looking and mannered. The exact opposite of Sara…

“Two, please,” Nyssa said handing over a bundle of cash. “This is for the room, and this is for your silence. If anyone asks for me you will tell them-“

“Ms. Al Ghul,” the clerk gulped and shook his head from the nerves, not taking the money, “please, it’s on the house.”

Nyssa has always been flattered that people knew who she was. She loved to watch the fear swirl in their eyes…

“Thank you,” Nyssa threw the words over her shoulder, picking up the keys to the rooms and one bag. Sara now had the other and smiled in a small triumph.

Sara couldn’t help but notice that Nyssa had requested two rooms, one for each woman. Sara somehow knew that she wouldn’t be able to sleep well again tonight. She kept quiet about it not wanting to bother Nyssa with her troubles. Fear tumbled through Sara that Nyssa was growing to have an irritation toward Sara. Had she done something wrong?

They traveled down one of many hallways, took one right and found their rooms. Sara unlocked her door and loaded her clothes into her room.

When Sara had unpacked and addressed the small things like brushing her hair again along with her teeth again, she walked across the hall to Nyssa’s door.

“Okay,” Sara said knocking on Nyssa’s door and walking into her room feeling brave. “Can we talk about it now? The infinite reason why you won’t let me join your League?”

“That’s not the real question, is it, Sara?” Nyssa looked over at her blonde Canary and sat down on the bed in her master sweet. “I – my league – kill people, we murder them in cold blood. Do you know what that means?”

“I’m not an idiot,” Sara huffed, “I know what it means to take a life, Nyssa.”

Nyssa smiled deviously, “Do you?” Nyssa watched Sara blink, Nyssa was sure that Sara was starting to doubt everything she was taught to believe. “If you handed me a case file that said that the man downstairs was a target of some kind, then I would take the knife that is in that drawer over there and drive it into his throat.”

Sara cringed as she listened to Nyssa talk and continue, “I sometimes skin men and women alive, I listen to their screams and you know what?” Nyssa saw Sara lean against the door way of her room, “I  _enjoy_  it. I went through years and years of training and finally, I don’t blink when I have a target. I release my bow string or I shoot my gun, I drive my knife into their beating heart or I beat them to death with my boe.

“I’m not going to put you through the same thing, make you have more nightmares of the lives you took – that’s final, you aren’t joining my league,” Nyssa swallowed and watched Sara control her facial features.

Sara shook her head and stared out the window above Nyssa. “You’re lying to me, I know you are. You said that you didn’t enjoy it – you said that to Marcus – I remember. You said that you killed Drug Lords, and murders, people who deserve it.”

Nyssa’s throat was like dry sandpaper. “I also kill fathers that have a wife and a family, I kill their children just to weaken my target, I do  _unthinkable_  things – things that I won’t put you through,” Nyssa tightened her hand into a fist. Nyssa didn’t want to tell Sara these things, but in the long run she didn’t want to hurt Sara and she didn’t want to get hurt in return. It was a useless and pointless inevitable. Sara would be completely healed in a couple more weeks and Nyssa would provide Sara with the tools to get back to her family. There wasn’t even a point in training Sara, she wouldn’t be here long enough.

Sara swallowed and looked over at Nyssa, she watched the setting sun light bounce off Nyssa’s dark curls. “Tell me the  _real_  reason why you don’t want me to join your crusade, Nyssa. Please… I can handle it.”

Nyssa licked her lips and looked up into Sara’s green eyes. “You can’t, Sara, I barley can, you won’t be able to, and honestly I don’t want to put the weight of this truth on your shoulders.”

Sara walked over and sat down next to Nyssa. She smiled and whispered softly, “Someone once told me that secrets have weight, Nyssa. The more secrets you have, the harder it is to keep your head above water.” Sara put a hand on Nyssa’s, running her fingers over her clenched fist.

Nyssa looked down at Sara’s hand on top of hers. “It doesn’t matter, anyway, Sara, we only have a month – most – together.”

Sara took her hand off of Nyssa’s. “What? Why?”

Nyssa looked over at Sara, “You will be healed in a couple weeks, and when that happens… You will go back to your family like you want to, and I will never see you again.”

Sara looked up and stared forward at the painted picture next to the front door of the room. “You would let me go back to my family?” she asked curiously. “I have a choice to go back?”

Nyssa looked up at Sara. “You’re not my prisoner,” she said disgusted, “I thought you knew that, if you didn’t-“

“I did!” Sara put a hand on Nyssa’s shoulder. “I did know that, I know I’m not a prisoner, but… I… I haven’t really thought about my family lately.”

“I thought that would all you would be dreaming about,” Nyssa muttered. “I know all I would want would to get back to my family.”

“You’re father?” Sara smiled, “He’s quite a fierce creature. Nice, mannered, welcoming, and terrifying all at the same time.”

Nyssa was surprised, “You’ve met my father?”

Sara nodded, “He told me that I was always welcome. At least that was the highlight of the conversation, besides-“

Nyssa turned her body so that Nyssa could see Sara’s face when she didn’t say anything. “’Besides’ what, Sara?”

Sara shrugged, and admitted embarrassingly, “We talked a lot about you.”

“Why?” Nyssa wondered.

“I guess because while you were gone… I only had people who knew you and that was what I was clinging too. Stupid, I know,” Sara looked away, embarrassed.

“It’s not stupid,” Nyssa said quietly. “It’s the most…meaningful thing I’ve ever heard.”

Sara smiled and nodded her head, “If I have the choice to go be with my family…”

“You can leave whenever you want,” Nyssa muttered. Nyssa wanted Sara to stay, deep, deep, deep,  _deep_  down, but she couldn’t be selfish with her; if Sara wanted to go, then Nyssa would comply and give Sara everything that she would need for her to do so.

“No, that’s not it,” Sara smiled and looked over at Nyssa who was trying to bring up a blank face of no emotion. “If I have the choice to go and be with my family, do I also have the choice to stay here with you?”

Nyssa snapped her head up to look at Sara once her words registered in Nyssa’s mind. “Yes,” she said imminently, “yes, of course. Whatever you wish, you may have.”

Sara put a hand on Nyssa’s leg. “I wish for you to tell me what’s keeping your spirit down. I wish to know why I can’t join the League of Assassins.”

Nyssa’s lips separated in a sigh. “Sara…”

“Please,” Sara begged. “Tell me, I’m stronger than you think.”

Nyssa looked into her eyes, “That’s impossible, my Canary. I already think that you’re stronger than God.”

“But, you just said,” Sara thought back to the beginning of this conversation.

“My problems are my own. I didn’t want you to be dragged down with them, Sara.” Nyssa touched Sara’s hair and she got up to look out her window. She didn’t want to look at Sara when she told her about her past. She knew that Sara wouldn’t want to be around her anymore.

“My first kill was when I was thirteen,” she explained solemnly. “My father thought that since I was going with my sister, Talia, that we would protect each other. When we broke the lock on his door, slipped inside, and I pulled my knife to slit his throat…” Nyssa’s throat was as dry as the desert thinking back to that first kill.

“His child walked in and started to complain about a nightmare. His daughter, now dead as well, saw her father get killed right in front of her eyes. In the last moments of her life, she saw death before her own got delivered onto her.” Nyssa cursed under her breath, “She would have been my age if she was still alive. More direct: if I hadn’t taken her life.”

“What did the man do to deserve the deal of death?” Sara stood up and walked to Nyssa, knowing that Nyssa wouldn’t have done it without a reason.

“Nothing,” Nyssa whispered. “He did nothing to us, he wasn’t a bad person… He was an innocent bystander. He didn’t deserve to die, but I took his life – and then I got rewarded for it.”

Sara touched Nyssa’s hair but Nyssa pulled away, coldly. “Nyssa,” Sara scolded her, “you’re not a bad person.”

“Yes, Sara,” Nyssa said gloomily, “I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment! Thx!


	9. Chapter 9: A date... Kind of...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa and Sara hit the town - kind of like a date!

“I am a bad person, you just don’t want to see it…”

Sara shook her head, “No, no, you’re not. You kill people who deserve it.”

“No one deserves to die, Sara!” Nyssa’s voice was on the verge of being a yell. “No one deserves to die… But I kill them anyway and I don’t feel guilty about it.”

Sara looked at Nyssa, “You choose your own fate, Nyssa. No one can force you – you, of all people – to do something you don’t want to do. You give justice to those who are unjust. If a man killed me, got away with it by law, what would you do?”

Nyssa thought about it for a moment and then answered, “I would starve them to death. In the desert of our home so I could watch them suffer, and then, at the last moment I would feed them and keep them alive just so I could kill them with my bare hands.”

Sara smiled and tried to find a silver lining in what she said, “Well, at least you are honest about it...”

“That’s not a good thing, Sara!” Nyssa tried to get angry at Sara but she couldn’t. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because where I come from someone would say, ‘I’d kill ‘em’ but most of them wouldn’t mean it!” Sara bent over laughing and Nyssa stood smiling at Sara but confused. “But you really would, so it’s kind of sweet.”

“In a sick, twisted, kind of way,” Nyssa muttered with a roll of her eyes.

“You’ve grown up in a home where all of that is okay, it’s just how to express yourself, Nyssa. When someone holds your favor do they bring you the head of your enemy like in the movies?” Sara asked her eyes huge in wonderment.

Nyssa stood frozen, “Flowers and chocolate still works, Sara, where I come from…”

Sara gave Nyssa a teasing grin, “Dooley noted.”

Nyssa tried to be subtle that her words made Nyssa feel giddy, but she couldn't help but smile about Sara's words. Sara had this effect on Nyssa, the effect to behave normally...

"I'm a dark person, Sara, I do dark things, I'm no-"

"Shh," Sara muttered and put a finger to her lips, "let me be the judge of that. If you're as black as you say, then I've already been introduced the darkness, too."

Nyssa disagreed easily, "Nothing about you is dark, Sara."

"I'll let you be the judge of that one," Sara was happy that Nyssa didn't think Sara's hands were dirty.

 

After getting dressed into something just as appealing but more comfortable, Nyssa and Sara hit the town. Walking around for a couple hours, a fancy restaurant caught Sara’s eyes and Sara asked if Nyssa was hungry because she was suddenly starving. Nyssa’s stomach was full, but she didn’t want to be away from her Black Canary.

“By all means,” Nyssa walked Sara up to the door with a hand on her lower back and pulled the door open for Sara. As soon as Nyssa was inside, Nyssa took Sara’s coat and hung it up on a coat rack that was embedded into the wall. Nyssa led Sara toward the colorful seating area and pulled out Sara’s chair for her with the years and years on manners that she had required.

“Everything is so neat and rich in your country,” Sara noted, “I wish places looked like this in America.”

“Have you toured Nada Parbat while I was away?” Nyssa asked quietly. “I hoped that we would see it together but if Bruce showed it to you, I understand. There is not much to do without someone who knows what to do in my country.”

Sara nodded, “I did see some of it, but I’m sure there is always more to see and learn.”

Nyssa’s implored curiously, “What do you plan to learn,  _Ta-er al-Sahfer_?”

Sara curiously gave voice to her questions. “A part of me wants to know every single part of you because you saved me… The other part thinks of you as a close…”

“Friend?” Nyssa offered up the word for Sara to use after a while when she became puzzled.

“No, something more than a friend – I don’t know though, strange, right?” Sara pushed her short hair frames out of her eyes.

“I will tell you everything that you want to know about me, and in return…?" Sara smiled and nodded. She had already done this all with Nyssa’s father but there was some things that even her father couldn’t answer. Sara wanted Nyssa to know her as well, Sara thought it was just a fundamental part of any relationship, friendship or otherwise; and Sara  _did_  want a relationship with Nyssa. What label that relationship might be… she didn’t know yet.

 _Don’t label it…_  Ra’s voice scolded inside her and she was starting to listen closely now than ever to the feelings of her gut.

Sara that night asked multiple questions, many she hadn’t thought of before in the past. Nyssa was glad that Sara was playing this weird game of ‘Twenty questions’ it was rather enlightening. They had asked questions at the middle of dinner ‘til Nyssa walked Sara to her door.

“I had fun, thank you, Nyssa,” Sara grinned sleepily.

Sara knew that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep, but she would be getting better sleep knowing that Nyssa was right across the hall.

“I enjoyed our time together, too, thank you for letting me join you for dinner,” Nyssa wondered what to do, hug Sara; just say goodnight? Nyssa leaned in for a kiss – one that was placed on Sara’s forehead.

Sara stopped breathing for a slight moment as Nyssa wished her a farewell.

“Sweet dreams,  _Ta-er al-Sahfer,_  I’ll see you in the morning, yes?”

Sara nodded and remember that Nyssa had called her that ( _Ta-er al-Sahfer)_  before. “What does that mean, Nyssa?” Sara wondered. "'Ta'... Something, something, 'er'?"

Nyssa smiled and informed her, “Black Canary.”

Sara’s final question for the night went like this: “Of all things, why do you call me Black Canary?”

“Normal canaries are loud an make annoying noise, but,” Nyssa remembered back to the text book she read a long time ago, “a black canary has the power to break glass with a strong pitch that no human can hear. My father seems to think that you’re breaking through to me somehow and…” Nyssa sighed looking for the right words.

“Go on,” Sara urged her on when Nyssa didn’t. "Please, tell me?"

Nyssa cleared her throat, “And... I do too. You’re making me see things differently – I have reason to believe that’s a good thing.”

The corners of Sara’s eyes crinkled in an eye-smile. She was flattered, getting the feeling that not a lot of people got Nyssa to change.

“I don’t know how to respond to that, Nyssa,” Sara revealed.

Nyssa gave Sara a lazy grin, “Then don’t respond at all... Goodnight, Sara.”

Sara blinked in agreement and put the key into her door to open it. After Sara was inside, she locked the door and fell back onto the bed, exhausted. She really had a good time tonight at dinner, she hadn’t had such a wonderful time in a while.

Sara shucked her clothes off and went to jump into the shower. That night, her nightmares came and left in waves. Flashes of screams – the ones that Sara heard while aboard Ivo’s ship. Flashes of Oliver facing Slade all alone. Flashes of getting pulled out into the sea. Then, something amazing happened…

The horrible nightmares stopped because Sara got to see the flash of Nyssa saving her life. Yes, Nyssa’s men did shoot her, but Nyssa had the choice of leaving Sara to die – but she didn’t. Sara wondered why as she called out to Nyssa in her sleep like she had so many times before in the week. 

Nyssa tossed and turned, trying to sleep. She was unsuccessful. Nyssa threw off her covers and went out onto the balcony to look at her country. She wished that she was back in her own room, in her own bed with Sara at her side. Nyssa didn’t want to assume that Sara wanted to sleep with Nyssa by her side, Nyssa wouldn’t pressure Sara into anything she didn’t want to do. Nyssa hadn’t slept well since she had left Nada Parbat, but she could handle it. She was Heir to the Demon, she could handle it.


	10. Chapter 10: Snuggle in tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa sneaks into Sara's room late at night

Nyssa tossed and turned in her bed, giving up, she walked over to the dresser in her room and slipped on a bathrobe so she wasn't naked when she would journey across the hall to Sara's room. Nyssa tied her hair up and opened her hotel door, she walked a couple feet and tried to do the same with Sara's to find that it was locked. Nyssa smiled, knowing that Sara's dreams terrified her - she should have guessed that Sara would have her door locked, it was what a sane person would do. Nyssa felt through her hair until she found her bobby pin and she quietly picked the lock.

Nyssa slipped inside Sara's room to find Sara on her side, asleep. Nyssa sighed and walked toward her sleeping beauty to get a closer look. Since Sara has been in Nyssa's company, Nyssa has felt like it was her responsibility to keep Sara safe.

With a sudden movement, Sara snapped up out of bed and threw a sharp object in Nyssa's direction. Nyssa dodged it easily, but off her guard the slightest. She wasn't expecting something to get thrown at her by an assumed to be sleeping Sara.

Nyssa's knees bent and she turned her body to the side as she still looked at Sara.

"Nyssa!" Sara apologized quickly, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you! I - I thought it was Slade or Ivo, or... I'm sorry, please don't be mad, I was just surprised and scared, I didn't mean to hurt you - did I?"

Nyssa smiled and recomposed her figure, "I'm not mad, Sara, actually, I'm a  _little_  impressed."

Sara's mouth was dry, "What? Why?"

"Well, that's a common butter knife, it's not trained for accuracy, yet your aim is  _fairly_  well. Your power, however, is in need to be strengthened, that will be the first thing we work on," she decided.

"Are you calling me weak, Nyssa?" Sara asked, saucily.

"No," Nyssa grinned again, "I'm calling your muscle's weak, there's a difference."

Sara laughed and crawled back into her bed, only to find the sheets soaked in sweat - again. "Ugh," Sara got up and went into the bathroom. "What are you doing in here, Nyssa?"

Nyssa realized how much of an inconvenience was. "I'm so sorry," she apologized and walked to the door, "I'll leave imminently."

"No!" Sara ran after her, "No, that's - that's not what I meant - you have no idea how happy I am to see you, really, I was just... Wondering? I thought you would be sleeping by now," Sara looked at the clock in her room. “You have no idea how badly I have wanted to walk into your room, but one, I thought your room would have been locked, and two, I don’t know how to pick a lock,” Sara laughed uneasily. “Also, if you were sleeping, it wouldn’t be very polite to wake you.”

Nyssa shook her head, "I... I haven't slept very well since I was nine, Sara, and your absence isn't making it any better-"

"My absence?" she questioned, the area around her eyes crinkling in a smile.

Nyssa gritted her teeth, “Yes. I… I don’t sleep much since I’ve felt your body in my bed, and I feel very restless without you there by my side. I apologize, I shouldn’t have thought that you didn’t feel that same way, I will go.”

Sara grabbed Nyssa’s hand, “I feel the same way, Nyssa.” Nyssa smiled, relieved but then her face became darker. “What is it?” Sara asked noticing the change in her attitude.

“You shouldn’t… I shouldn’t… We shouldn’t,” Nyssa rolled her eyes and sighed. “I am trying to protect you, your innocent heart, I’m no good for you. You shouldn’t feel this way about me, it’s not right.”

Sara crossed her arms, “I don’t know what I feel, Nyssa. I don’t know if it’s connection between us, or something more, something less.”

“Let’s hope for less,” Nyssa whispered.

“Thanks, Nyssa, because being with me would be such a-“

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Nyssa said quickly. “What I meant was-“

Sara cut her off, “I know what you meant, okay? You think I’m better than you – you’re wrong. You kill people for a living, Nyssa, congratulations. I used to torture them, experiment on them. I remember their screams, begging me to stop – but I wouldn’t,” Sara scoffed. “My hands are filled with as much blood as yours, if not more.”

Nyssa bowed her head sympathetically, “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sara waved it away. “It’s in the past…”

“If it matters to you, then it matters,” Nyssa placed a hand on Sara’s shoulder. “Perhaps you should join me in my bed?”

Sara swallowed the huge ball in her throat, “Are you sure?”

Nyssa nodded and placed a hand on the bottom of Sara’s back, “I’m sure.”

Sara started to walk with Nyssa but stopped and ran to her nightstand, “If we can’t sleep, you might as well read it.”

Sara placed their book in Nyssa’s hands, willing her to take it. “How far have you gotten?” Nyssa wondered.

“Nyssa,” Sara opened the door to walk out of her room, “I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but I don’t read Arabic.”

Nyssa laughed, “I was talking about how far Bruce had read aloud to you.”

Sara shook her head, “I didn’t let him… He offered, he thought it would have helped me sleep some, even, but I told him that you gave this to me and come hell or high water, you and you alone with read this to me. Until I learn it for myself, that is,” Sara added.

“You didn’t have him read it to you?” Nyssa didn’t think the book meant that much to Sara.

“It was the only thing you had given me, I wasn’t going to let him touch it, I barely let him see it!” Sara giggled, “Is that stupid?”

Nyssa wondered what Sara thought stupid about it. “No,” Nyssa confirmed, “no, it’s not. It’s meaningful, and enlightening…”

“What’s enlightening about it?” Sara asked, confused.

Nyssa held her room’s door open for Sara to enter, first, “I will have to buy you something to remind you of me other than a book. What would you like?”

Sara touched her own hand in an automatic response. “My locket set,” she whispered to herself.

“A locket?” Nyssa thought about it, “I have just the right thing for you.”

Sara shook her head, “No, sorry, I was… In Starling City, I had a jewelry set: A ring, a bracelet, earrings, and a locket. It was filled with a family photo of my sister and my mother and my dad… Now, I would like nothing more than to get a jewelry set again.”

Nyssa smiled and slowly leaned into to give Sara a hug, “You know you don’t need a photo of them, right? You’re free to go anytime you wish…”

“If I do go, can I come back anytime I wish?” Sara whispered squeezing Nyssa back.

Nyssa was thinking this thought over, “I don’t know… I… If you wish.”

Sara pulled back and looked into Nyssa’s eyes, “You hesitated. Do you not want me here? Nyssa, be honest with me. Stop leading me on if you don’t want me here, I need to know, no matter what the truth was.”

Nyssa smiled, “I want you here, happy, more than everything, Sara…”

“There is a ‘but’ coming, I know it,” Sara pointed out.

Nyssa nodded, “I know the power of a father’s love, and making your family think you are dead for a moment longer is absolute torture for them – and you. A strong family like yours shouldn’t be deceived, Sara. It will make you very unhappy not to see them, I know it, and when you want to go back to them – permanently – I fear what the toll will take on me.”

Sara crossed her arms, “What are you talking about?”

Nyssa walked into the room and sat on the bed, “Let the thought pass, I would rather get some sleep.”

“I want to know,” Sara whined lightly. “What were you talking about, please tell me, Nyssa?” she asked gently.

Nyssa looked up at Sara and smiled deviously at her, “You can’t know all my secrets, Sara… Not yet.”

Sara smiled, “But one day?”

“One day,” Nyssa confirmed.

Sara threw on one of Nyssa’s shirts, hers was soaked in sweat along with her sheets. Sara was about to climb into bed when Nyssa stopped her, “If you don’t mind, I have a rule?” Sara agreed to hear it. “I always sleep on the side closest to the door. Protection reasons, it’s just a rule I have forced upon myself if I ever need to escape a situation.”

Sara slid under the covers opposite of the door and fell asleep, listening to Nyssa’s voice ring strong, better than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment!


	11. Chapter 11: Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara is lost and so confused. She doesn't know whether to stay with Nyssa or go home - so she has someone else decide...

As morning came, the light streamed through the window and Sara woke up to the sound of Nyssa breathing softly. Sara tensed slightly and then smiled at her own delight. Sara moved the covers off of herself and she walked to the closet where Nyssa’s bathrobe was. Nyssa had hung it up before crawling into bed last night with Sara at her side.

Sara crept out of the bedroom as quiet as she could and down the hall to the main floor where a grand breakfast was being served.

“Hello, ma’am,” the front clerk greeted her with politeness. “What can I get you?”

“May you point me into the direction of the dinner hall? I think I’m a bit lost,” Sara smiled at her kindly. “I haven’t been here before, and this place is pretty huge…”

“If you would like, I could have food of your choice brought up to your room?” The blonde tucked a loose strand over her ear.

“Food of my choice?” Sara was surprised, “It’s not pre-cooked?”

The clerk barked a laugh, “Good heavens no! What do you think we’re running here?” It was clearly a rhetorical question. “What would you like?” she grabbed a pen and notepad paper.

Sara had known Nyssa’s favorite things to eat from last night questions. Sara told the clerk to make sure the strawberries were dipped in chocolate and then the chocolate frozen. Sara ordered a lot of fruit, baked carrots and a few meat dishes such as sausage and bacon and went back to their room. Nyssa was apparently on a Pelo diet which meant she only eat vegetables, fruit, and meat and Sara didn’t mind jumping on board with that diet.

Sara knew that the rooms didn’t lock automatically and so she slipped back inside the room, checking to see if Nyssa was still sleeping.

“Sara, if you wanted to leave, you didn’t need to be so sneaky about it,” Nyssa murmured quietly with her eyes still closed.

“How did you know that I left?” Sara whispered and jumped back into bed with Nyssa’s…

 _Naked body?_  Sara’s thought screamed. Nyssa had the blanket wrapped above her breasts, covering her body in the sheet but it wasn’t hiding anything, Sara could tell.

“No one can sneak up on an assassin,  _me_  especially,” Nyssa opened her eyes and sat up, clinging onto the blanket so nothing was revealed. “When you left the bed, I felt the movement, and your breathing stopped.”

“I was afraid I was breathing too loud,” Sara rolled her eyes and took off the bathrobe. “Here, you might need this… I ordered breakfast, Nyssa, I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, not at all,” Nyssa took the robe and swung her legs off the bed.

“Good god,” Sara hissed through her teeth and Nyssa hair draped over her skin, flawlessly. Notice, not ‘flawless skin’ there was a huge scar from the middle of Nyssa’s blade down her spine. There was a burn impressed onto her shoulder, a few other cuts and scars of endless other tools that could have been.

“What?” Nyssa asked, “What is it?”

“Your back, Nyssa!” Sara leaned forward and stopped the robe from coming up to shield her back. “What… What happened?”

“Just another thing you get for being an Assassin, scars you will never have,” Nyssa swallowed and shrugged on the bathrobe.

“No, no,” Sara scooted closer and pulled back down the red silk. “You don’t get off that easy, where did you get these? Why?”

Nyssa shrugged, “Pick one… There are too many for me to know which you are talking about.”

“There’s…” Sara counted quickly, “five, six, just on your back, do you have any others?”

Nyssa just swallowed and repeated what she said. Nyssa whispered, “Pick one, Sara, and I will tell you.”

Sara didn’t know which one to pick, which one had burned Nyssa too badly, cut her to deep and she didn’t want to talk about it, so Sara blindly closed her eyes and lifted up her hand. “This one,” she traced her finger over Nyssa’s back until she found one. It wasn’t too long of a wait, “Tell me about this one?”

“Is it in the shape of a tree?” Nyssa waited Sara’s answer. When Sara confirmed it, Nyssa explained, “It stands for the tree of knowledge. I failed one of my tests when I was ten? No, eleven and got branded to always remember to be wise and knowledgeable with my lounge.” Sara just blinked and pointed to another, “That one was for teaching me discipline… And for disrespect… For strength and endurance.”  Nyssa gave Sara an answer for every scar she whisper touched. Sara’s fingers was tracing Nyssa’s scars as light as a feather, carefully, with precautious fingers.

“Do you have any more?” Sara wondered with big eyes.

“I don’t have that many, Sara,” Nyssa smiled at how worry some Sara seemed to be. “I have a lot less than the average assassin.”

“How many does the ‘average assassin’ have?” Sara wondered with a harsh tone.

“I was trained to be better, more efficient, more skilled,” Nyssa licked her lips. “A lot of assassins make mistakes, I didn’t have that luxury.”

Sara sighed, “I’m sorry, Nyssa, that you have had to go through all that.”

“It made me strong,” Nyssa was simple with her words.

Sara crossed her legs. She didn’t know how she felt about all that, she didn’t know what to do. Sara knew that she wanted to stay in Nada Parbat with Nyssa, she wanted to become strong like Nyssa, but could she go through all that? Wouldn’t it just be easier to go back to Starling City and be the daughter of a Detective?

Sara licked her lips, “I… I need to, uh, get some air. Don’t eat all of it, okay?” Sara tried to make light of her words as she got up and walked out of the room before Nyssa had the chance to say anything else.

Sara didn’t know where she was going, but she knew where her heart wanted to go. Sara ran down the hall and asked the beautiful lady at the front desk if she could use her computer for a moment. The clerk eyed Sara’s clothes, she was quiet unpresentable but the Clerk agreed for a short moment.

Sara pulled up Google and found her location how  _not_  to get lost in a foreign country.

“Thank you,” Sara walked out of the hotel and crossed the street, took a right, walking roughly five blocks and crossed the street again.

Sara stopped outside the doors and admired the scenery of the old building, she pushed the doors open and ran inside.  There was magnificent art, and painted glass windows of angels and Arabic symbols. Testimonies of love, leadership, desire, lust, and honor were written on the walls and carved into the stone pillars.

“Wow,” Sara muttered and walked toward the pew and took a seat in the front row. Soft classical music was running in the halls, but besides that she was the only one to be seen in the ancient building.

An old man appeared under the decor on the stage and he walked toward a young blonde woman who had her head in her hands.

The old man greeted her politely, seeing that she had some troubles on her chest that she needed lifted.  _“Hello, can I help you? Young lady, why are you crying? What has you upset so?”_

Sara looked up and wiped her face. She whispered, “I’m don’t speak Arabic, I’m sorry, father.”

The man in an old black uniform smiled down at the blonde girl with teary green eyes. “I speak English, all is well – you can still confess. It is alright, my child. What has you so troubled?” he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m not catholic, I don’t know what I’m doing here, I’m sorry,” Sara got up to leave, but her heart brought her here for a reason. She should try and see what that reason was.

“Who am I going to tell of your troubles?” the father said.

“You gotta point,” Sara sighed and pushed her hair back. “You see, I have this friend, and she kind of saved my life, and I feel like I should stick around to repay that debt – and she’s my friend, I want to stick around anyway – but she runs with this really, really,  _really_ , bad crowd, and when I say bad, I mean it! She doesn’t want me to get sucked in with all her…” Sara tried to think of the right word for it, “Well, all her badness, and I said that I could handle it! But what if I can’t? I’ve been away from home for so long, my parents are worried; I know it! And then I kind of want to go home, but at the same time I want to stay here with her? And… Whenever time I see her – I know it’s wrong, father, believe me, I was raised with a psyotic mother – but I can’t help these feeling stirring inside my chest and I don’t know what to do with them! Should I ignore them and go back to everything I’ve been taught to believe and go back to my family? Should I stay and try and live without her, which seems really impossible! I mean, she’s the only one who is solving my nightmares right now… The father gave her a look that said he was trying with the best of his ability to keep up, but Sara was making it really hard. “I’m afraid I’m going to make the wrong choice,” Sara whispered looking up at the cross in the front of the church. “I’m… I don’t know what to do… I’m so lost, father.”

The father nodded, “Are you a prisoner?”

“No,” Sara could never imagine Nyssa putting chains on Sara’s wrists. “No, never.”

“Are you happy?” Father asked looking into Sara’s eyes.

Sara nodded, “Yes.”

“Does your family think that you are dead or such things?” Sara nodded slowly. “Why don’t you go back to your home town and introduce this friend to your family? Two birds with one stone, it seems?”

Sara looked away, “Nyssa… she’s not really the ‘bring-home-to-family’ type.”

The father crossed his arms, “Nyssa… Nyssa al Ghul?”

Sara had a blank face, “Yes, do you know her?”

“She’s every honorable – even when she does her job… She has come to confess many times to me, it has taken me years to get her to tell me the smallest of secrets,” the catholic man laughed.

“What should I do?” Sara asked.

“I am a man of God,” the man said standing up and looking fearless. “Do you trust my judgment?”

Sara shrugged, “I guess so?”

He smiled, “Nyssa will comply with whatever you wish, I am sure to that if you are not her prisoner. Come with me,” the man walked over to the confessions table where pencils and paper were waiting.

“What are you doing?” Sara asked quietly.

“Since you trust me, do you obey me?” the father asked.

“What? No, not really, but… What does this have to do with-“

“Pretend that you would have to, then,” he smiled at her affectionately. He turned his back to her, picked up a pen and scribbled down his thoughts. “You’re confused, you need to make a choice except you don’t know which choice to make, do you?”

Sara shook her head, “Yeah, that’s kind of been the dilemma.”

“Hearing both sides of the argument, I have passed judgment and I know what you shall do,” the father folded the piece of paper so that she couldn’t see.

“And what is that?” Sara asked with narrowed eyes of wonder. “Since I don’t know what choice to make, you’re gonna make it for me?”

The father nodded, “With pleasure if you’ll let me.”

Sara swallowed, her throat suddenly becoming dry. “Yeah, I guess, sure…”

He smiled, his brown eyes peered into hers. “Here,” the father leaned forward and handed her his answer. “No matter what choice I choose, and no matter what you decide to go with… Things will be lost, painful things. This isn’t a win/win situation, my child, I’m sorry,” the father reached out to touch her face, but Sara flinched back out of his reach.

“Read it,” he urged not taking it personally, he knew she had some troubled secrets and one of those obviously led to abuse.

Sara’s mind swirled with questions: _What’s his answer? Does he want me to leave Nyssa? Will I see my family again? It doesn’t matter what this old coo says, does it? I can still stay with Nyssa if I want to! Will I miss her more than I have missed my family? Will I miss this place? These chances that are once in a life time, do I really want to pass them up? Pass_ **her** _up? Will I-_

Sara silenced her mind as she reached out and grabbed the old scrap paper. Her hands trembled with fear of his answer, she didn’t know how to stop her hands.  _Or_  the fear. Sara wet her lips, swallowed; once, twice and a third time before opening the paper.

Please, let me stay, she thought. Please… Please… Please…

With carefully pried fingers the seed of doubt took root in her mind. I’d get to see my family again, be in the arms of my mother… Explain to my sister, and hopefully be in her good graces again. My father… Oh, how he must be worried and heartbroken. Most divorces are because of a loss of a child, do I want to be that child? Can I really tear up their marriage?

Sara’s heart sunk, she thought of Nyssa and everything she could learn in Nada Parbat… Is she worth it? The question burned into her mind as Sara double checked if it was time to look under the slip of paper.

The father nodded. With careful fingers, Sara unfolded the paper and a sigh escaped her lips.

Sara in confusion flipped over the paper back and forth on her fingers. “Father? It’s… It blank, father,” Sara looked up for an explanation.

He laughed, “The paper, yes, but not your choice. You know, don’t you, what you’re doing? Where you’re going?” The father was hopeful that this trick had worked. “Do you have your answer?” he finally asked standing tall and wise.

Sara looked down at the blank paper and tossed it aside. “Yes,” Sara told the truth, “I have my answer…”

“And it is?” the father couldn’t help but be a little curious.

Sara folded her arms around herself, “I’m going home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment! Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12: Token

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara proposes to Nyssa that they should go dancing but before they do, Nyssa gives Sara a token to always remember her by....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO sorry for the confusion! I never meant to make you guys think that it was the end of the story, I just didn't no how to change that but I do now! Thanks so much for the comments, and the kudos!

Thanking the Priest, Sara raced back to the hotel and imminently started to pack. She was excited to go back home even though she was leaving Nyssa. Sara had thought that Nyssa might come with her, but she knew that Nyssa would never leave her father to have a normal life. Sara couldn’t exactly blame Nyssa, a normal life would be boring after a while when Nyssa has had such an exotic childhood.

“It’s not like she would leave her life behind for me anyway,” Sara said to herself. “We’ve only known each other for a couple weeks.”

When Sara had packed her things, she walked across the hall to Nyssa’s room and was about to knock on her door. Sara hesitated, what could she say?

‘Thanks so much for your hospitality, making me feel protected in a time of fright, taking me into your home, heart and allowing me to live there and return to my normal health? Now that I’m back to normal, I want to go back home even though I think I’m never gonna feel the same way I do now when I’m with you?’ Sara couldn’t do that, what could she do?

A letter is so cliché, Sara didn’t want to do that, but what else was that she could do? Sara got an idea and ran down to the front desk to ask the clerk for a video camera. She thought that it was at least better than writing a letter, maybe she could do both?

Sara went back to her room and jumped into the shower. If this was the last time Nyssa would see her, Sara wanted to look nice. _No_ , Sara decided, _I have to get a flight, I at least have today and tonight with her… What am I going to do for the flight money? … I’m best friends with **two** millionaires, couldn’t I just make a call?_

Sara decided that she would make the call and that tonight Nyssa and Sara would go and do something fun; Sara would sneak away at the last moment, Nyssa wouldn’t even miss her.

Secretly, Sara hoped that Nyssa would miss Sara the slightest, but Sara wanted Nyssa to be happy and Nyssa was happy saving and hunting people. Sara suddenly realized that with all the enemy’s that Nyssa had, Sara was a weakness she couldn’t afford. Thinking back to Marcus, Nyssa jumped at the chance to save Sara from just _words_ ; maybe deep down, Sara knew that’s why going home would be the best option.

Sara sat down, in front of the camera and told Nyssa why she was leaving. No excuse seemed efficient enough, but Sara had a family back home that she need to go see; to go save. She needed to mend their wounds, explain herself. After Sara had messed up several times and re-recorded, Sara hit the end button and took out the tape. She felt old fashioned, but she knew that Nyssa liked old fashioned.

Sara changed her clothes into a tank top that wrapped around her neck and then threw on a gold shall to hang off her shoulders. Jeans were next with black boots.

Sara walked across the hall and tried to act normal. She knocked on the door to find Nyssa dressed in a tight black leather dress. It was crinkled in the front and Nyssa was bending over so that Sara was getting a full frontal view of how the dress brought out her cleavage.

Sara cleared her throat and looked up at the ceiling, “Uh… Well, I had an idea!” Sara watched Nyssa straighten her dress and pull it down to cover her backside.

“Which was?” Nyssa asked gingerly.

“I figured that we could go out tonight, clubbing actually,” Sara pointed to the dress Nyssa was wearing. “That should do perfectly. But, coming from a girl whos gone clubbing,” Sara added with a chuckle, “a _lot_ , umm… Could I?”

Sara pointed to the dress and Nyssa nodded her agreement. Sara took a step forward and pulled the dress around Nyssa’s cleavage the slightest to reveal a back lace bra.

Nyssa smirked, “Is that better, Sara?”

Sara blushed, “Yes,” she looked away. “Very much…”

Nyssa touched Sara’s shoulder in a brief sign of affection and pulled Sara into her bathroom. “Come,” she coaxed, “I have something for you.”

“What is it?” Sara asked curiously.

“While you were out, I went… To go get you something,” Nyssa tried to make the words come together without saying too much.

“Which would be?” Sara asked as Nyssa motioned Sara’s shoulders to sit on the toilet.

“Stay here, I’ll return soon,” Nyssa scurried from the room and went to get the box that held Sara’s wish. Nyssa retrieve the black bag from under the bed and Nyssa held out the bag to Sara. While Sara was staring up at Nyssa, Nyssa flashed her a ‘Look and see’ smile.

“Okay,” Sara laughed and opened the small bag. Inside, there was a medium sized box that Sara opened next. Sara hesitantly pulled up on the lid and she was suddenly very grateful that she was sitting down. “Oh… My…”

There were several slots in the black box and Sara ran her fingers over each object in each one. In the largest slot, there was a silver circular necklace. With carefulness, Sara picked it up from the case and ran the tips of her fingers over the expensive gift. Sara pressed the black diamond in the center of the necklace and to her surprise, the front silver case opens forward, revealing a picture of Sara’s family on one side, the other side was empty.

“Oh, Nyssa,” Sara started to tear up.

“Do you like it?” Nyssa asked curiously. Sara’s expression was filled with so many, Nyssa didn’t know what to do about it all.

“How can you ask that?” Sara looked up at Nyssa and laid the box aside. “I love it, Nyssa… _Thank_ you,” Sara threw her arms over Nyssa and pulled her in tight. “Thank you, thank you, thank you… It must have been costly-”

“Hush now,” Nyssa scolded, “you must’n worry about the price.” Nyssa bent down and picked up both the necklace and the rings - the ones that Sara hadn’t got to look at yet.

“Here,” Nyssa rotated Sara’s shoulders and draped the necklace over her shoulders. “Let me?” Nyssa slid the rings onto Sara’s middle finger and admired her handy work.

“I can’t except both of these,” Sara denied having the pleasure to wear two connecting rings, and one necklace more valuable than God. Sara got an idea and she smiled mischievously, “Here, take it?” Sara stepped up to Nyssa and took off one of her silver band rings and placed it in Nyssa’s palm. She enclosed Nyssa’s fingers around the ring.

“Now, we both have matching rings,” Sara grinned and felt like she was a silly teenager.

Nyssa couldn’t deny that she liked sharing something special with Sara. In order to keep her emotions in check, Nyssa changed the subject, “Let me finished getting ready.”

Sara was staring at her necklace when a small engraving caught her eye. “Ta-er al-Sahfer,” Sara read aloud. The dimples around her eyes immediately showed. “The Canary…”

Sara thought that Nyssa couldn’t have been more perfect, and Nyssa thought that Sara couldn’t have looked better, but Sara did want to do her hair, and Nyssa wanted to apply some makeup.

“You know,” Sara said while Nyssa curled Sara’s blond locks, “I think I want a tattoo.”

Nyssa was surprised, “Of what?”

Sara hadn’t thought that far, but suddenly came up with, “What’s the motto for the assassin’s?”

Nyssa thought about that one. “It would have to be tied with, ‘Every warrior must learn the simple truth - that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional’ or, ‘The strongest metal is forged in the hottest fire...’”

Sara liked the first one, and decided that she would go get it once she landed back in Starling City.

“A tattoo actually seems kind of nice,” Nyssa thought about it. “I have so many scars and burns, but not a tattoo.”

“You shouldn’t,” Sara disagreed. “Not that you can’t, but I like the way your skin is so flawless. Even with the scars, your skin is soft, supple…” Sara admitted, “I like it that way.”

Nyssa titled her head so that Sara couldn’t see her pursed lips in an attempt to hide a smile. “Then I shall remain untouched by a nettle, my Canary,” Nyssa decided, unplugging the curling iron and setting it aside.

“Why do you do that?” Sara asked. “Treat me like I’m the only person in the world who you listen to, whoes opinion you care about?”

Nyssa’s answer was simple, “Because you _are_ the only person whoes opinion I care about. Beside my father, of course, and perhaps my sister on occasions.”

Sara looked at Nyssa’s reflection in the mirror. “Really?” she asked.

“Really,” Nyssa confirmed. “I… I don’t know what you are doing to me, but whatever it is…” Nyssa’s heart hammered in her chest as she searched for words, “Whenever I’m around you, I just feel stronger. More secure? It’s ridiculous, I know, but true, nonetheless.”

Sara shook her head, “It’s not crazy. It’s sweet.”

Nyssa kissed the top of Sara’s head and left to go put on her shoes. Sara’s ring burned on her finger and she looked down, “How am I supposed to leave, now?”


	13. Chapter 13: Clubbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa kicks ass when a man puts his hands on Sara!

Sara and Nyssa walked to the club, the music thumping and bumping through the streets. Nyssa was nervous about going into such a public filled with such a mass population of people, but Sara told her she would have fun and nothing to worry about.

That is, until a man wrapped his hand around the curve of Sara’s ass and Nyssa got a little… Temperamental?

At first, Nyssa and Sara were having a good time. Sara was jumping up and down to the music, it felt good to be back in a familiar setting and get back to her old roots… With a beautiful woman by her side that she might or might not have been dancing to impress.

It had been working, Nyssa would gladly tell you if she wouldn’t have been speechless. Sara’s hair was wild, frizzy and had a sexy tint to it. Sara had lost her shall a while ago and was dancing in blue jeans and a clingy top that showed cleavage. Sara was acting like she loved the music that was playing even though the words were passing by so fast Nyssa couldn’t even understand them. Nyssa felt like she was being tortured listening to this stuff, but she danced along with Sara because Sara wanted it.

“I don’t even know what I am doing!” Nyssa exclaimed.

“None of us in here do, it’s okay,” Sara laughed and took Nyssa’s hand. They danced close together, drawing attention and when one man finally approached Sara about giving him a “lap” Sara looked over at Nyssa.

Nyssa glanced at Sara to know if she was alright with his man touching her; Sara glanced at Nyssa almost to see if she was uncomfortable with the man doing what he wanted to her. Almost to see if Nyssa was jealous?  Nyssa clenched her jaw and looked away, telling Sara she could do what she wanted.

Sara sighed, whether from the man touching her in a sexual way (the first one since the Gambit) or the disappointment from Nyssa not being bothered by it, but then shook the man off.

“Come on,” he urged, “I’m twenty-one.”

The man touched the inside of Sara’s hips and by that time, Nyssa had gotten her own answer. All Nyssa needed to see was Sara’s shake of her head and she stepped in on the matter. Sara went wide eyed as Nyssa pushed through the small crowd between them, and Sara turned her back to Nyssa.

“You have to let go of me… Like, _right_ _now_!” Sara hissed at the man.

“What, baby, no,” he was drunk, that was obvious, but he was blowing right in her voice and that was very agitating.

“You are about to loose your hand, and possibly your testicles if you don’t-“

“I believe the madam asked you to take your hands off of her,” Nyssa forced out the words politely. It was harder than the norm to withhold any violent actions, but when the man looked at Nyssa and grabbed her own wrist…

Let’s just flash to Sara’s POV because things got very jumbled and bloody in Nyssa’s head. Nyssa saw red, and skill took over.

With over swift motion, Sara saw Nyssa slip out of his hold take his arm backward, flipping him to the ground. Even though the hard wood floor was overrun with people, they cleared out of the way when a man went down.

“Nyssa,” Sara looked over to the corners and saw security start to make their way into the crowded dance floor. “Nyssa, we gotta go, come on,” Sara touched Nyssa’s shoulder and slid her hand into Nyssa’s. Sara pulled Nyssa off the dance floor and toward the front door of the club when two security guards stopped them. “Not good, not good!”

Nyssa switched the hold on their hands so that Nyssa gripped Sara’s wrist and flung her back a few steps. Nyssa swung around and backhanded one of the guards right square in the nose; the next hit was delivered to his neck and he sputtered out a curse laced with blood and crumpled to the ground.

The next guard got close to placing a hand on Nyssa's shoulder but that was only because she was standing so close to Sara and in this dress it was a little harder to use her legs. Luckily, her arms were working just fine and with one elbow drive to the nose, she twisted his arm back around, gave him several hard strikes to the rib and gave a knee drive to his stomach.

It’s not like they were overweight bouncers, they were both tall and fit. Sara was kind of concerned that Nyssa would get hurt. Sara cried her name out in a worried tone but Nyssa turned back to Sara and pulled her close, out of the line of where more security guards were coming.

Sara dipped down and snagged one of the guard’s tazer guns and both of the batons, but tossed one weapon over to the woman who knew how to use it. While Nyssa was busy dealing with the guards in front of her, Sara quickly fired the gun once and her aim was better than she expected.

Sara didn’t exactly know what she was doing with the baton, but she swung her hand back and gave a bouncer a fast and powerful strike to the middle of his neck. He howled in torment but still raced towards her with unsteady feet. He grabbed her wrist, as she tried to use the baton again, but he grabbed it and threw it aside.

Sara felt stuck, and gave him a sharp swing to the jaw with her eyes squeezed shut from fear. Sara felt a swoosh by her and found the man on the ground and Sara pressed between Nyssa and the wall. Nyssa pushed Sara to the ground as one man rushed her and rolled to the left, running right into the wall. Nyssa almost laughed but when she realized that Sara was on the ground, she was up and at it again.

Nyssa was out of her heels and placed both hands on the ground to project herself forwards in a graceful cartwheel toward a wall off to the right. Taking the pornographic photo from the wall, Nyssa turns around and slams it into the nearest guards' face while Sara sits still, shocked at how many bodies are collapsed before them, collapsed and knocked out on the floor.

Sara realized that the music had died and everyone was staring in the small entry hallway.

A woman stepped up to the plate, the first out of all the bouncers, and held a tazer at Nyssa.  “Put your hands up, Miss!” she said in a warning tone. When Nyssa didn’t, the woman fired the tazer but Nyssa saw it coming from a mile away. Nyssa shifted her body slightly and then dealt a weak punch to knock the female guard out stone cold and to the floor she fell.

Sara counted the bodies with her small finger. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight – no, wait, I already counted that one, _that’s_ eight – and the woman would make nine. Awesome,” Sara whispered looking up at Nyssa. She didn’t even break into a sweat when here Sara was; panting away.

“Should we go? People are looking at us,” Nyssa helped Sara from the floor and looked her over. “I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Sara smiled and grabbed her hand, “No worries. I’m not China, I don’t break that easy.”

Nyssa nodded and held the door open for Sara to walk through, “Wouldn’t ever dream of it.”

***

Oliver looked over at Sara, “Did she really take out all those guards and not even break a  _sweat?”_

Sara laughed and shrugged, “I don’t know, but fighting in high heels and a tight mini-dress isn’t fun.”

Oliver laughed and looked over at Felicity while she walked into the foundry. “Oh,” she blushed at Oliver’s bare chest. “Sorry,” she looked away. “I didn’t know… I thought you… I’m just gonna go, sorry, Oliver; Sara.”

Felicity went to talk up the steps but Oliver grabbed her wrist. “You don’t have to go, we’re just reviewing some stuff about Nyssa. I’ve never heard their story and it kind of works out well to bring out memories back.”

Felicity looked over at Sara as she sat up and hooked her legs over the edge of the bed that Felicity bought her.

“Thanks, again, for the bed,” Sara swallowed and watched Oliver glance at Felicity to see her response. Sara liked watching how Oliver hung on almost every single word.

“Well,” Felicity pushed some of her hair back, “you were sleeping on the floor, so, thought I would solve one of our problems.” Oliver smiled loosely and Sara nodded her agreement.

“I’m gonna go now,” Felicity placed a hand on her stomach and walked up the steps, sending a urging glance over her shoulder.

“You don’t have to, Felicity, if you don’t want to, you know that, right?” Oliver asked catching her hand as she climbed back up the staircase.

“I know, but it’s alright, you can sit down here and chat with Sara, I don’t mind, Oliver,” Felicity smiled at him and he let her go at first.

“You’re not holding me back from anything,” Oliver skipped the first step and joined Felicity on the stair steps. “Talk to you later, Sara?”

“Yeah,” Sara nodded and waved. “I’m just gonna continue to read, maybe it’ll jog something in my memory, or something…” Sara flipped the pages and continued to read. “’After she kicked ass, we left the club in a rush. I dragged her out and down to the streets corner dying from laughter and concern.’”

***

“Are you okay, Sara?” Nyssa touched Sara’s shoulders but she wasn’t breathing.

“I can’t – I can’t, I’m laughing too…” Sara gave up trying to speak and doubled over in laughter. “You just took down nine guys in heels and a dress, how do you find that not to be funny?” Sara pondered through her giggles.

“I… I don’t know… I assume because I was trained in high heels to beat up criminals I figure bouncers are easier than cutting cake,” Nyssa shrugged like what she had done was nothing.

“Unless the cake is frozen solid!” Sara stopped laughing and slipped her arm through Nyssa’s. “Let’s go back to the hotel, hmm? Cuddle up with a movie and some chocolate?”

Nyssa happily agreed, “I haven’t watched a movie in a long time. I shall happily ‘cuddle up’ with you, anytime, Sara.”

Sara put her head on Nyssa’s shoulder like it was already a habit, like she had been doing it for forever.

 

“And I’d cuddle you anytime with you, Nyssa,” Sara snuggled into Nyssa’s warmth and just lived in that heat for a little while longer.


	14. Meeting the League of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Nyssa get's into a mysterious battle, Sara meets the League of Shadows when she gets abducted...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I got an e-mail from a nice young woman named Jan who reminded me that I haven't uploaded for a while! In case this ever happens (I sometimes forget that I have an A03 account along with my Wattpad one) and your dying to read the my story, look me up on Wattpad at: Rogue_Mariah_Dare and the title of the fanfic on there is "Canary Cry (Nyssa/Sara Fanfiction - Arrow fanfic)"  
> Thanks for reminding me, Ms. Jane!

Nyssa and Sara were wrapped up on the couch at the foot of Nyssa’s bed watching an old classic that was in black and white.

Sara had convinced Nyssa to try some of the mint chocolate chip ice cream after their small dinner and glass of red rich wine.

“So,” Sara smiled deviously, “you never talk about your mother.”

Nyssa’s whole body went rigid. “I do not want to talk about that,” Nyssa whispered so that she didn’t hurt her feelings. “She died, and you know just about as much as I. There is no more to tell,” Nyssa set her glass aside and saw Sara smile.

“What about your sister? I haven’t met her yet,” Sara tried to change the subject after giving Nyssa a sympathetic smile.

“Taila?” Nyssa shrugged, “You probably won’t ever meet her.”

“Why?” Sara set her drink aside as well.

“She… In the Demon, our will isn’t limited by the League of Assassins, we also formed the League of Shadows.”

Sara crossed her feet and scooted back a little so that she could see Nyssa’s face.

“Why did you tell me about this before?” Sara nudged Nyssa’s knee with her foot playfully.

“I am Heir to the Demon because I have restraint and some sick twisted definition of honor,” Nyssa hung her head in shame. She had never been ashamed of being next in line to be Head to the Demon until she met Sara.

“It’s not sick and twisted,” Sara said, “how many times do I have to tell you that, Nyssa?”

Nyssa bashfully smiled, “I assume not to know.”

Sara blushed as well. “So, why haven’t you told me about your sister and her own League. Maybe I could meet the members of her-”

Nyssa snapped, “No!” Sara jumped and froze as Nyssa recovered her features. “Sara, you must promise me that you will never, ever, go near her when her League is around. Don’t even go near her when I’m not around, Sara, you must promise me. Do you swear?”

Sara stared and had a blank expression. She put the pieces together and played with the ring that was on her finger, “They don’t stop do they?”

Nyssa looked away, “We don’t stop, but at least we have dignity and honor. They rape, and murder  _uselessly_. We only kill if we have a purpose. I torture and kill because I need to, want to even… It’s hard to explain-”

Sara leaned in and just touched her forehead to Nyssa’s stopping every word that was coming from her mouth. Sara heard Nyssa’s breath catch and Sara looked down at their hands that were now entangled.

“Thank you,” she whispered and brought their hands up to her lips for a small kiss.

“... For what?” Nyssa asked her accent showing through thickly.

“Everyone has a darkness inside them,” Sara pulled her head back and one of her hands to touch Nyssa’s cheek. “I do, just like you do… The only difference between us, is that you know how to use your darkness for good and honest purposes.”

“I don’t do good things, Sara,” Nyssa testified.

“Does Taila?” Sara smiled at her reassuringly. “Nyssa, trust me as I trust you… You want something to twist? You twist and turn you darkness so it’s not light, but it’s not dark, either. You have a grey spot inside you, and you know what?”

Nyssa squinted her eyes in denial.

“Grey’s now my favorite color besides black,” Sara kissed Nyssa’s cheek and when she went to pull back, Nyssa pulled on the hand that was attached to her own.

“Why is your favorite color black of all colors?” Nyssa asked wonderingly. "You said a few days ago that you loved the color red, does your favoritve color change?"

"Yes," Sara smiled. "It depends on where you’re standing," Sara admitted.

“Me?” Nyssa raised a brow curiously.

Sara nodded. “Right now, your hair is as black as night. But, when you were standing over there,” Sara pointed to the window, “it almost had this golden red lava look to it. I don’t think you know how breathlessly beautiful you are…”

Nyssa’s thought halted where they were and she blinked slowly to try and remind herself not to do anything rash. Like, say, kiss the woman in front of her with every fiber in the being?

“Why do you say that?” Nyssa wondered. “Why do you call me beautiful? Do you know the effect you have on me when you’re around, and more so when you make those comments?”

Sara blushed and she shook her head, “No… I didn’t know, I’m sorry if they offend you.”

Nyssa rolled her eyes, “They don’t offend me, Sara, if anything, they make me come alive.”

Sara made a face, “I do tend to have that effect on people, Nyssa!”

Nyssa laughed lightly as she noticed Sara’s yawn. “Time for sleep?” Nyssa offered yawning herself.

Sara agreed and turned back to the TV to snooze on Nyssa’s shoulder, finding that rather  _more_ than comfortable. She knew, however, that she would sleep better lying down.

Sara slowly moved the blanket that was wrapped around both of them aside and grabbed another so that she could have one over her shoulders when she laid on Nyssa’s lap. Sara let her hair fall down and out of the casual ponytail she had put it in after the club.

“Wait one moment,” Nyssa jumped up and ran into her bathroom, coming back with a brush. “Lay now,” Nyssa wrapped the blanket around her own shoulders again and patted her lap.

Sara pushed her hair aside so that Nyssa could brush it and laid her head on Nyssa’s legs. Sara felt the tingles spread through her as Nyssa brushed her hair which was already free of all the tangles. When Nyssa was done brushing, she rubbed Sara’s forehead and ran her fingers through Sara’s long straight locks.

Sara sighed Nyssa’s name and smiled contently, falling into a deep slumber.

***

Nyssa woke from her place on her bed. Nyssa had moved Sara so that her Canary could sleep better. Nyssa noticed that Sara was cuddled into the curve of her back, presses aganist every inch of Nyssa's body. Nyssa couldn't help but get baby butterflies. However how much Nyssa wanted to stay glued to Sara, Nyssa gently crawled out of bed, careful not to wake Sara when she went to the window.

When Nyssa got to the window, she looked out below onto the streets. People were moving around the main square, but besides that, at two in the morning, the world was quiet. Too quiet for Asia.

Nyssa picked up the phone and dialed Bruce's number. She knew he would pick up, he always did.

"Nyssa?" his voice made him sound like he was tired.

"Bruce, is Taila with you?" she whispered quietly.

"Yes," he whispered back, "she's lying right beside me, why? You think she's trying to kill you again?"

"No, but it wouldn't be the first time. We're heading back home," Nyssa hit the end button and even though she wanted to crawl back into bed with Sara, she knew that she couldn't.

Nyssa walked out to her small patio and put her hands on the railing. She smelled the air, listening to the wind; she saw the streets. She saw the empty shops that held trinkets to buy, fancy dinner places, and art studios.

… And then she saw the hooded figure running through the shadows.

An ordinary person would’ve thought that if was a person going to their car late at night, that they lost something in the darkness, a normal person might’ve missed the shadowed figure altogether, but Nyssa wasn’t normal.

Nyssa doesn’t act, she waits for the man or woman in the shadows to make their move first. She might’ve been wrong, however rare her mistakes have been in the past, she has still made them regardless. Nyssa examines the figure’s body build, the way s/he walked and held the bow. Nyssa made the conclusion that it was man underneath that hood and she waited. Nyssa waits and watches from her spot on the patio, looking at the man slip inside a building, and not seeing the man come out. Doesn’t see a window open, doesn’t see any strange activity going on.

Nyssa relaxed and turned her back to the street, seeing that her nerves made her overreact and become too suspicious. Nyssa glance at how Sara was now lying on her stomach, stretched out and the blankets half on and half off. Nyssa sheepishly glanced away when she noticed that Sara’s bright blue underwear was starting to rise up on her hips. Nyssa promised herself that she would take Sara shopping soon and get her some clothes that fit and were comfortable.

Nyssa took one last glance from the balcony and made sure everything was alright. Nyssa and Sara needed to get on the road soon, anyway, they would be leaving in the morning. Nyssa pushed her hair back and her foot was placed on the ground in one solid step, that’s when she heard the ripple in wind. Nyssa didn't see which direction it was coming from, so she just bent her knee and rolled to the ground. Nyssa ducked down and covered her head behind the stone railing. Nyssa peaked through the crack and saw that a window now was indeed perched open, that there was a man with a bow pointed in her direction.

Nyssa was up a second later and saw this arrow before it struck her. Nyssa turned her body to the side and her arm snapped out to grab the arrow as it slipped past her. Nyssa glared down at the man who fired the arrow as another one zipped past her. Nyssa snagged that one too, and took them with her as she walked - not ran, no assassin ran from an enemy - into the room and retrieve the weapon of her own.

Nyssa’s fingers wrapped around her bow and she shrugged on her quiver over her red silk loose dress. She ducked out the room to slip down the halls. The lights in the hotel were out for some reason unknown, but Nyssa was glad about that. It made it easier not to make a scene. Nyssa kicked the door open and loaded an arrow onto her bow string.

The streets were empty, which made Nyssa think that they was more of them. She just wondered where they were. Nyssa saw the man with his bow aimed in her direction, but she was much faster. Nyssa released the string, sending her arrow flying toward its target. With a collision, the man fell down, the arrow lodged between his windpipe.

Nyssa stayed in the shadows, her feet peeking out into the moonlight was all that showed of her.

_If they’re are more warriors to come, why aren’t they-_

The lights from the hotel flickered back on and Nyssa tensed, seeing someone round the corner in the hotel to walk behind the desk.

Nyssa slips from the shadows and into the light, her bow raised and ready at the sound of any threats that will be made.

Nyssa relaxed her bow string when she figured out what they wanted.

Nyssa’s and Sara’s room was on the second level, not too high to climb. Nyssa strapped her bow around her chest, knocking it side by side with her quiver. She placed her feet on the first patio that was just for decoration, and leaped to grab the stones above her. Her hands gripped the stone and effortlessly, Nyssa pulled herself up and tumbled over the railing gracefully.

Nyssa kicked the doors open to her room and checked the bed where she left a sleeping beauty in her absense.

Nyssa cursed under her breath and swore a solemn vow. “I will find you,” Nyssa promised becuase the shadowed figure wasn’t a threat, but a distraction.

One that Nyssa fell for.

The real threat came and stole the one thing that was for meaningful that a thousand rubies:Sara.

She was gone.


	15. Damian's Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sara and Nyssa continue to talk *in present time* Nyssa tells her a secret that Sara never would have guessed on her own....

Sara was squirming in her seat, ever since the shadowed figures broke in, Sara had a sick feeling in her stomach. That feeling? It only happened when she broke a promise and Sara suddenly knew who her captures were.

"You're members of the League of Shadows," Sara commented weakly. "Why are you doing this, I mean nothing to Nyssa. If you want to hurt someone, go after her father."

"Are you telling us to kill the most feared man in all the regions of the world?" a woman turned in her seat to look back at Sara. "You're blind and way too blond if you think we are going to do that," she twisted back around when Sara didn't answer her.

"I thought you people weren't afraid of anything?" Sara probed. "I know that-"

"You don't know anything," the man who was driving glanced at Sara from the rear view mirror. "You think because you share a bed with the Heir to the Demon, you know something about us? What has she told you, Ms. Lance?"

Sara shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Nyssa told me that you people kill without reason. That you'd kill me if I ever met one of you."

"Well, you're still very much alive," the man noted. "We aren't going to kill you, we have our orders to take you to the airport to fly you back to Starling City."

Sara leaned forward, "What?"

"Are you deaf, girl?" the girl frm the passenger seat wondered with attitude.

Sara leaned back. "No, it's just unlikely for you people to help me. Why are you?"

The couple in the front seat glanced at each other and remained silent.

"I asked you a question," Sara's voice was steady and angry. "Why on Earth did yo-"

The woman lashed out, turned in the backseat, and drove something straight into Sara's neck. The woman settled back in her seat, "I don't answer to you, Ms. Lance, let me make that very clear." Sara's vision went blurry and she fell aganist the back seat. "Long live Taila, the truest and strongest Head of Demon."

***

Sara glanced up at the sound of someone coming down the steps, "Who's there?"

Nyssa halted and eyed Sara's hunched over shoulder who was reading the book they both wrote together in Arabic.

"I'm apologize, Ms. Lance, I didn't want to disturb you," Nyssa hated being so formal with the woman who had bewitched her heart. "I shall leave," Nyssa turned on her heels and started to climb the stairs.

Sara jumped from her spot on the makeshift bed, set the book down and ran to Nyssa. "No!" she protested. "Nyssa?"

Nyssa halted at the sound of her name, she stayed where she was and relished in the feeling of Sara touching her. "Yes, Ms. Lance?"

Sara's heart broke, "I'm sorry, please, call me Sara, or, Ta-er Sah-fer... just don't act like we don't know each other," she begged and pleaded. "Please?"

Nyssa obidded Sara's rule and she turned toward her Canary. "You're wish is my command, Sara," Nyssa bowed her head and continued to walk away.

"Wait! Nyssa?"

Nyssa laughed lightly and turned again, "Yes?"

"Why aren't you calling me Ta-er Sah-fer?" Sara swallowed and hoped that she didn't offend the assassin.

"You will always be my Canary, Sara, but I cannot call you that because you do not remember me... The word has no meaning to you, so why use it?" It was a good question to ask and Nyssa felt like if it was the right one to ask.

Sara smiled and took off her ring to place it in Nyssa's hand. She enclosed the ring around Nyssa's palm and Nyssa furrowed her brow thinking Sara was giving her gift back.

"I want to remember you," Sara confirmed. "I read about our...." Sara searched for the word, "...  _tension_  and  _connection_  between each other, and I want to remember it. Do... Do you think that you could help me?" Sara asked, shyly.

Nyssa opened her palm and placed the ring back in Sara's hand. "I would be honored, Sara, but why did you give me this back?"

Sara fanned out Nyssa's fingers once she removed Nyssa's glove. On Nyssa's left hand, third finger, there was the matching ring. Sara slipped her ring with Nyssa's and made them collide. She twisted the band until it matched perfectly with Nyssa's.

"I just wanted to make sure our story is real," Sara laughed and shook her head. "It's stupid, I know-"

"Sara," Nyssa scolded, "nothing about you is lacked." Sara nodded weakly, the tales from the story making perfect sense to her of Nyssa's protective and loving character. "Now, where were you when I rudely interuptted?"

Sara tapped her finger on her black leather leg, "Actually, I was done reading for a little bit and hoping that we could go out?"

Nyssa glanced down at her uniform. "Let me change," Nyssa demanded and slipped past Sara toward the corner of the room where her things were.

"When did you move your things down here?" Sara asked crossing her arms and watched Nyssa grabbed dark blue jeans, a red tank top, undergarments, and a black cover.

"Mrs. Queen-"

"Felicity," Sara corrected with a light smile.

"Yes, Mrs.  _Felicity_  was welcoming me into her home with open arms, but now that Oliver was returned to his rightful home, I decided that it would be more suitable if my League and I went somewhere more isolated."

"You're whole entire League is living here?" Sara's mouth hit the floor and Nyssa shrugged.

"There are many members of the League, but I only have a few with me," Nyssa stated.

"How many?"

"Whisper, Willow," Nyssa started to name names but stopped when Sara's face went blank. She didn't remember them, there was no point in trying to explain to a blank memory. "Not many," Nyssa sumed up, "we won't have any troubles living under these conditions."

Sara nodded and walked to the coat rack and handed Nyssa her hat. Nyssa took it and thanked Sara politely.

"I guess I'll be seeing a lot of them, then?" Sara laughed and climbed the stairs.

"You're housing here, too?" Nyssa opened the door for Sara to walk through first.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Nyssa said imminently in response.

Sara smiled and answered Nyssa's question. "Yes, I want to be here. It's isolated, away from whoever did this to me," Sara pointed to her head and shrugged.

"I will find him," Nyssa vowed. "I  _will_  and when I do, I  _will_  kill him for messing with your innocent mind."

Sara was shocked at her forwardness, but, to Sara's own surprise, she found honor in her comment. "Thank you," Sara was shocked that the words fell from her words. Shouldn't she be saying 'No! Please, don't kill him?' Sara wondered being so honest with Nyssa was a part of her past that she didn't remember.

"You're welcome," Nyssa took Sara's ring off and pressed it into her hand. "I don't want it, I gave it to you as a gift... Keep it, it looks more appealing on you in every manner," Nyssa walked past some of her League who were just starting to set up and they stopped her.

"Where are you going, Princess?" Damian had grown into a tall handsome young man. He had a strong jaw, big broad shoulders and possibly the deepest and darkest eyes that Sara had ever seen. "You should stay here, where I can watch over you."

Nyssa smiled and kissed his cheek, "Don't forget who beats who in training, little champion."

Damian grinned and looked past to the woman standing behind Nyssa. "Sara?" he questioned double checking her appearence.

"Hi," Sara smiled weakly, "I... I guess you know me, what's your name?"

Damian put himself in check and contained his feelings. It had been so long since he's seen her, and when he did, she doesn't remember him? Damian's and Sara's relationship had been so strong, stronger than almost anyone relationship with him beside Nyssa and his One, Lady Shiva. Sara not remembering him stung a little...

"I am Damian," he stuck his hand out to shake Sara's that was extended, "kin to Nyssa, who is daughter of Ra's al Ghul and Heir to the Demon."

"You're next in line?" Sara asked shocked but Nyssa smiled proudly at her kin. "Wow, um... I didn't know you had a son."

Nyssa looked away and tried to change the subject but Sara wouldn't let it go. "He was ours, Sara... He was our son."


	16. Back in Starling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Sara wakes up back in Starling and everything suddenly becomes clear that she IS home, and WITHOUT Nyssa... But it's Halloween, and everyone's in masks, and how will she find her family?

Nyssa looked away from Sara and down at the floor.

“Come again?” Sara wondered looking back and forth between her… her…  _Son_  and her… her…  _Wife?_

“When you found out that Damian was an orphan, you said that all children need two parents and that if no one would take him in, then we would,” Nyssa remembered the old memory and how Sara marched into their little cabin that they shared and demanded that they adopted Damian. It was humorous to see, and not a question. Sara wasn’t debating the topic. When Sara set her mind on something, there was no arguing with her.

“So… We were actually married?” Sara asked and the thought made her emotions swirl and mash together.

“We exchanged a couple vows but it wasn’t in front of a priest,” Nyssa looked away, feeling like Sara was ashamed of their past together. Damian stepped up to Nyssa and put a hand on her back.

“Princess?” Damian touched her shoulder with his other hand. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear that Sara couldn’t hear and Nyssa nodded and kissed the temple of Damian’s forehead.

“We were just heading out, but… I don’t think that Sara will want to go now, Damian.”

“I still want to go,” Sara dismissed Nyssa’s worries. “I want to remember, Nyssa. Everything. I want to remember – everything.”

“Everything?” Damian asked curiously.

“Everything,” the girls confirmed; they’re minds linked as one.

Sara smiled, the grin also reflected on Nyssa’s lips.

“Let’s go,” Nyssa held out her hand for Sara to take, in which she did so willingly.

“Go where?” Sara asked.

Nyssa gave her a ghostly smile, “Somewhere over the rainbow? Let’s go, Sara, a real lady returns a woman before dinner.”

“What if I want you to buy me dinner?” Sara asked cockily with attitude.

Nyssa smiled, “Your wish – my command.” Nyssa put her hand on Sara’s lower back and she noticed how right that small but intimate gesture felt.

***

Sara opened her eyes and saw nothing but blurs. Lights blurred together, sounds blurred together, smells blurred together, thoughts blurred together.

 _What the hell…?_  she thought as she rubbed her eyes and blinked away tears. Sara sat up once things sharpened into focus.

She glanced around and noticed that she could hear thumping music coming from the floor boards below her. The music sounded familiar, all too familiar and Sara picked up on the lyrics quickly.

 _“Because she moves her body like a cyclone, just like a cyclone!”_  Sara remembered dirty dancing on Oliver with this song playing in the background. A ghostly smile flashed on her lips, that time seemed like ancient history.

Sara moved her arms, tensed and flexed her weak muscles in her legs until she could stand and keep her balance easily. She walked around the room and found the door easily.

As Sara reached the door, a voice inside her told her to wait.

 _Why would old-fashioned assassins be playing a sex song from America? Could this be a trap?_  she wondered as the realization clicked in.

They said they were taking me home, Sara smiled and pulled open the door. There was a clock at the end of the hall and she caught the time. She had been out almost a full day!  _How is that possible? … Must’ve been some drug,_  Sara decided on finally.

The song swiftly changed to  _Waka Flocka Flame’s “_ No Hands”. Sara was a big fan of this song back when she was a partier, but not anymore. Now, all she wanted to do was have Nyssa storm into the room and change the music to Native American Dream music.

 _Wait_ , Sara thought,  _NYSSA!_

Sara rushed to where the clock was hanging on the wall. Below the cheap five dollar clock was a desk and that desk held a phone.

Sara had an emergency number for Nyssa memorized and she dialed it quickly praying that her dark eyed –  _What?_  the question bugged Sara once again.  _What were we? What was she to me?_

Those thoughts disappeared as soon as she heard the ruff and harsh voice of her…  _Something_ … Nyssa wasn’t a friend anymore, she was a… Sara’s mind landed on the word ‘Peer’ and she wanted to laugh at herself.

“I swear by the Holy God above, if you touch one blond hair on her head then I will  _personally_  cut off every body part you have and have your death prolonged-” she added for safe measure- “extensively drawn out, so you will be wide awake of every single  _inkling_  of pain I deliver onto your fragile body; not caring what the consequences are. Now, the next words that better be coming from your mouth are her exact locations; am I in any way unclear?”

Sara’s mouth slacked, she had never heard Nyssa so angry in her whole few months of knowing her! At least she was alive, which was more than what Sara knew moments ago.

Sara’s voice wasn’t surprised when she spoke though, her voice came out steady, not scared; just worried. “Nyssa? Are you alright?” she yelled over the music.

“Sara!” Nyssa squeezed her eyes shut and tried to picture her well-being and health. “Sara, where are you?”

“I… I don’t know, Nyssa, but Thing One and Thing Two aren’t here anymore. You must have scared them off, I guess, or, they completed their mission? I don’t know, Nyssa, I’m in a house, in America, probably in Starling City. The halls aren’t familiar, they said they were going to take me home but I’m not there… I’m…” Sara looked forward to a picture that was above the phone. “I’m in… Laurel’s house? I don’t see how that’s possible,” Sara tried to think. “How long have I been away from home?”

At first, Sara counted each day, but then the days blurred together and she stopped counting.

“About two years, Sara,” Nyssa explained. “About a year with Ivo, and then a few months with Oliver, and then you’ve been spending a couple months with me… Did you say they weren’t there? As in, they left you alone? Are you wounded at all?” Nyssa wondered why they left her alive.

“No,” Sara shook her head. “I’m fine, where are you?”

A second of worry passed through Nyssa and she wondered if they were using Sara as a trap. “I’m in Starling City,” Nyssa said briefly. “I knew they were taking you here, I had a friend of mine tap into the security and they caught you boarding a private jet, but are you sure that you’re alright.”

“A private jet? How did they get me through security?” The questioned seemed insanely real to Sara and she couldn’t figure it out. “And, uh, yes, I’m sure I’m fine. A kink in the neck, but a couple pills will solve that.”

“We have a lot of connections, Sara,” Nyssa’s voice was breathy. “Listen to me, Sara, you need to leave that place you’re in, I know that you think that you’re in a safe place, but they could be coming back.”

Sara shook her head as she creped down the hallway, trying to be quiet, “I-I don’t think so, Nyssa. Laurel wanted to go to Law School, and there’s an award on the wall for her Freshmen and Sophomore year… Those are things that I haven’t told anybody, how would they know about that?”

“If you are safely at home,” Nyssa said regrettably, “then I shall return to mine.”

“Wait!” Sara walked down the steps and peeked around the corner of the hallway. “Umm… Will I ever see you again?”

Nyssa bit her lip, “I… I don’t know Sara… It depends, I assume.”

“On what?” Sara’s heart beat a little faster as she heard the song change to “Habits” by  _Tove Lo_  and Sara knew this wasn’t the original song so it had to be the Chainsmokers Remix. Suddenly, the song fit Sara’s and Nyssa situation perfectly.

Sara would need to get high, drink past all health and then go comatose from the drugs to forget Nyssa. Not even  _then!_

“On whether you want me to come and see you before I leave,” Nyssa’s answer pained her to say so.

“Nyssa,” Sara closed her eyes and she walked into the room of dancing people all wearing…  _Masks?_  “I have a question, what day is today?”

Nyssa thought about it. Since Sara had been with Nyssa, she sense of time had been severely messed with.

“October thirty first?” Nyssa guessed right.

“It’s Halloween?” Sara had forgotten the holiday. “I… I will never find Laurel in this crowd, there’s no way.”

“Do you need a pair of fresh eyes?” Nyssa asked trying to be kind.

“I… I don’t know, if you can help, then yes, but you don’t know what she looks like,” Sara walked down the steps and saw dozens of people bounce to the beat of the music in her house.

“I don’t need to know what color hair she has, if you give me a picture of her eyes, I will find her for you,” Nyssa was practically Sara’s servant. Whatever Sara commanded, Nyssa did.

And, what’s worse (or maybe better, depends on how you look at it) Nyssa will gladly do Sara’s dirty, sparkly clean, sexy, hard, hot and heavy work…

“Could you come over, then? I feel guilty to ask, but I…” Sara choked out, “I need you, Nyssa, and I… I’m not sorry about that.”

Nyssa’s face broke out into a smile even though Sara couldn’t see it. Her heart sped up at Sara’s words and it felt like a thousand weights had been lifted off her shoulders. Nyssa smiled and

“I’m on my way, Sara, just give me some directions and I’m there,” Nyssa tried to have her voice remain in one tone level, but her voice did falter for a moment.

It revealed one thing to Sara: That Nyssa was happy at what Sara has said.


	17. Haunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara wakes up in Starling City and finds her sister, Laurel, being threatened...

Sara tried to make her way outside, but with Nyssa suddenly absent from her shadow Sara felt overpowered by the strong music and the screams of enjoyment (or were they screams of fear and pain? It sounded like fear and pain to Sara) and felt sick. Sara pummeled down the stairs to the main floor where the sounds of people moving, rocking, swinging, dancing, grooving to the beat were the strongest. Without Nyssa there to protect her and make her feel safe, the sounds made her feel closed in, captured, and confined. It reminded her of the screams from the prisoners in her past, the ones that were on the ship.

Sara stumbled through the crowd, being tossed between people, between the floor and upright.

“Sara?” Nyssa asked, her hears popping the slightest from the loud noise on Sara’s end of the line. “Are you alright?” Sara couldn’t hear Nyssa’s voice though, the noise was too loud as she traveled through the rooms to try and find the front door. The people’s faces blurred together and in the midst of trying to find sanity, Sara retired the idea of going all the way outside to find the street name.

Sara grabbed a stranger who was shifting his weight nervously and she thought he could have been pressured into coming here, which most likely meant that he knew where ‘here’ was. Sara batted her eyelashes at him and smiled sweetly at him, “My boyfriend dumped me last night and I drank to much… This is kind of embarrassing but I woke up here, and I have no idea where I am, could you help a girl out?”

“Sure,” he nodded and forced a smile back at her, “no problem.” He gave her the name of the owner of the house and the address she was staying at. “You need a ride home, girl?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“No,” Sara denied his offer but winked at him for good measure, “thanks, though.” Sara turned back to the loud crowd and tried to find a place where she could hear Nyssa better, and in return Nyssa could hear her better. “Nyssa? I’m on 122 Larkin and Clock Tower Lane, you know where that is?” Sara put her free hand that wasn’t holding the phone to her ear to try and block out the other noise.

“Yes, I’m only a few blocks away,” Nyssa whispered and Sara heard the sound of an acceleration in the background. “I’ll be there soon,” she assured Sara.

“Until then,” Sara hung up and tried to find her sister, Laurel, in the mean time.

On Halloween? Sara thought, This is gonna be impossible. Sara remembered how Laurel would alwyas wear fishnet tights on the holiday and that eliminated all the males (obviously) that were in the house and other females that had bare legs.

Sara wondered the house, back through the living room, kitchen, library, up the steps into the bathrooms and Sara checked each bedroom. Sara was just about to give up hope of finding her sister until she saw a girl all dressed in black. The girl was wearing fishnet tights, black mini-shorts, heels, and a top that said she was trying to get someone’s attention. The girl was wearing a blond wig, and a mask covered her tan skin, but Sara knew it was her.

“Laurel?” Sara shouted out to her sister and over the loud music.

The blonde stopped, turned, and glanced back at the woman who called her name. Laurel was used to seeing her sister all around her, Laurel had been haunted by her sister’s ghost since the day of her funeral, the day where Laurel cursed both of them. Oliver, and Sara. Oliver was Laurel’s boyfriend, and Sara knew how much Laurel loved him, but decided to get onto that damned ship anyway. Laurel cried the first time she saw Sara in front of her, Laurel hugged her as tight as she could and she didn’t want to let go, to wake up and realize that it was all a dream. For two years, Laurel had been seeing Sara’s essence, and for two years Laurel had tried to change herself for the better. She had gone to law school, and become someone that she thought Sara could be proud of, no matter her sins.

“I’ve obviously had too much to drink,” Laurel mumbled to herself and rationalized that this was just another dream, just, as she was awake. Sara wasn’t really standing tall, and beautiful in front of her. Sara was at the bottom of an ocean somewhere off the coast of China, never to be seen of again. “I’ve had a fight with Tommy, been threatened by one War Lord and two Mob bosses, and now, I’m seeing my dead sister… Awesome,” she grumbled and turned away from Sara.

Sara laughed slightly, it was either laughing or crying, and since Laurel was drunk, she had better act like the bigger sister in the situation and take care of her. “Come on,” Sara smiled, “let’s get you to bed, silly.”

Laurel shook her head but walked with Sara anyway. “I’m tired of being haunted by your ghost, sara, I don't want to see you anymore! I know I blamed you for Oliver’s death, I know I blamed him for your death, I blamed you both, it’s all your fault that Dad and Mom’s marriage is falling apart, Dad’s drinking has set in, and so much more, but… Really, I… I’m tired. For two years I haven’t slept, and for two years I see you dead, so please… Just leave me alone, but I am trying to move on, but I can’t when I see your face.”

Sara didn’t know that her father had started drinking, or that Mom and Dad had been separated, but she had a good idea. It’s one of the reasons why she came back.

“Sleep now,” Sara insisted, “I won’t haunt your dreams anymore, I promise.”

“Thank you, Sara,” Laurel whispered and a tear slipped out of her eyes. Sara pulled the mask off her sister’s head and laid it aside. Sara slowly started to undress her sister until Laurel was just in her under garments.

“Bra, off,” Sara handed her sister a shirt and turned her back for a moment. “All clear?” she asked and glanced back. Laurel was trying to pull the covers up over her head and wasn’t being very successful. “Let me,” Sara demanded and tucked her sister in. “Sleep well, big sister… I’ll watch over you.”

“I love you, Sara, I miss you, so much…” Laurel’s last warm made Sara smile.

Sara walked over to the phone on the side of Laurel’s nightstand and picked it up. Sara dialed Nyssa’s number and got her on the first ring. “Hey,” she said, “are you here?”

“Yes, I am here,” Nyssa sounded frustrated. “Where are you in the massive gathering of fools and hooligans?”

Sara covered her mouth to make sure she didn’t wake her sister with her laugh. “I’m in the upstairs bedroom, I can come down to see you-”

“That’s alright, I can come up,” Nyssa smiled and was surprised how no one looked her way when they saw her warrior suit. She even got a few compliments from how creative it looked from a few drunk college children.

“Sara?” Nyssa called out once she found the hallway and wandered down the blue halls that led to a room. “Sara?”

“Ah, miss?” Nyssa turned at the voice who had called out to her and caught her attention.

Sara stared blankly at the male in front of her, the one she had asked directions from about five minutes ago. _No wonder he was nervous, it wasn’t because he was afraid to be caught at a party…_

“Shh,” he crooned quielty, “we wouldn’t wake to have your friend know that I’m here, now, would we?”

Sara stared at the black machine pointed at her stomach. If he fired, Sara wasn’t even sure if anyone would hear the gunshot, the music was so loud. The only one that had a chance of hearing it would be Nyssa who was creeping down the halls like the majestic stealthy assassin she was.

“I don’t know all about that, I think she can take you,” Sara narrowed her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you, you have to know that, right?”

He gave her a crooked smile, “I knew you were Sara Lance the second you stepped into the room and asked me where you were. It’s Halloween, why aren’t you at least wearing a mask?”

“Because I’m not intimidated by low life drug dealers pointing a gun at me,” Sara said simply.

"What if I point the gun at your sister? What about that?" Sara's throat went dry. "Or, what about your friend?"

Sara laughed weakly, "Feel free to try and hurt Nyssa, Daughter of Ra's al Ghul, Heir to the Demon, but I'm gonna tell you now, you're gonna step on the shoe that's connected to the boot that's gonna kick your little white ass. But," Sara smiled, "don't let little'ol'me get in your way."

He pressed his lips into a fone small line of anger, "I'm more interested in your sister, now, you can either step out of the way, or after I shoot you, I'll go for your sister next. Your choice," he bickered.

"Feel free to shoot me at any given time, because I'm not moving," Sara stood there looking fearless, because she was.

After Ivo, the Island, Slade... A simple drug dealer didn't scare her, but her sister getting shot did.

"Alright," he pulled the trigger like Sara knew he would.

Sara twisted her body to the side and watched the bullet fly past her flesh. With quick adrenaline filled hands, she reached out and snapped the gun out of his hands.

Sara kicked him where it hurt for good measure and as he bent down to hold his goods, she took the opportunity to send a fast knee drive straight to his nose.

"You bitch!" He screamed and fell back onto the floor.

Sara cocked the gun back and emptied the mag. With a toss, it was no longer a threat to her.

"I really hate that word," she said simply and crouched down to the man’s body. "Who do you work for?"

"What? No way I'm telling you!" He screamed over the music.

“Listen to me,” Sara suggested, “and listen very carefully, because I’m only going to say this once. There are two ways that this can happen, either, you tell my now and save me the nightmares that will come to me after I cut every main vain you have, or, I cut every main vain you have and you will eventually bleed out.”

“You’re gonna kill me?” he laughed like he didn’t believe it.

“I’ve spent just around two years on a God Foresaken Island,” Sara reminded him, “don’t think there’s anything I’m not gonna do to keep my family safe, boy.”

“’Boy’?”

Sara bent down and hit the man across the face with the gun in her hand. “I’m not going to tell you again!”

“I work for Brick, alright!?” he screamed nervously, clutching his head. “He’s being put on trial for the murder of some cops and he knew that he could get away with it if the D.A’s office attorney was taken care of!”

“You came here to kill my sister?” Sara pushed him back against the wall with her foot and felt the anger rush through her bones.

“We did,” a voice off in the distance caught her attention and she was faced with yet another gun.

This one, which was already loaded, cocked back, and the first bullet now lodged into her hip bone.


	18. Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Nyssa tends to Sara's gunshot wound on her hip, Sara expects to feel only pain while in her state, but instead, feels the exact oppisite...!

Sara clutched her side, she felt the bullet go straight into her bone and she screamed out. Sara fell back onto the ground and the world pumped black spots into her visions. Sara’s breathing sped up and Sara remembered from all the different pains that had been delivered onto her, this would have to be one of the less painful ones.

“Sara!” Nyssa’s body appeared in the correct hallway, the one of many that Sara had wandered through. Nyssa heard the scream, a very familiar, full scream. Nyssa turned the corner, now raised, arrow latched into string and took her aim to the blond that was holding the smoking gun. Nyssa shot an arrow right into the young man’s throat, the blond that separated Nyssa and Sara from each other.

Sara saw her comforting movement, her eyes that shone brighter than stars and immediately felt calmer and more at peace even though Sara's leg gave out and she crumbled to the floor.

“I’m alright,” Sara moaned and tried to stand back up, move her legs, but she could only move one out of the two. "I’m alright, Nyssa," Sara preached and she thought that maybe she could make it so.

“No, you’re shot in the hip and can’t walk,” Nyssa hissed, running over the man’s body and toward Sara who was lying on the ground, “that shouldn’t have ever happened. I should’ve been here to protect you, I promised I would.” Nyssa cursed in Arabic and Sara smiled, weakly.

“It was my fault, I didn’t see his partner…” Sara strangled a sigh between her lips. “He’s right though, a dead cops daughter sticks out like a sore thumb… I need to change my clothes.”

Nyssa helped Sara to her feet and Sara leaned on the strong woman for support Nyssa suddenly realized where the bullet was, and Nyssa cursed again. "You’re not able to walk, Sara, you’re not gonna be able to change," Nyssa pointed out.

“I can do it, I need to do it,” Sara struggled to walk but Sara instructed Nyssa to go back into the room, that Laurel was sleeping in, and get her mask. “A mask won’t be enough, I’m still in my pajamas. There’s a clothing store just down the block, we should get there soon.”

“You can’t walk all the way down there,” Nyssa told her, worry lacing her tone.

Sara needed to do this, or else, Brick's men will be all over this place and notice it was her. No one better to take the fall than an already proclaimed dead girl."Trust me, I’m stronger than I look," Sara wobbled and balanced on one foot while Nyssa disappeared into her sisters room and returned with the mask.

"Good," Sara realized that the man who she asked advice from was knocked out, cold.

"Nyssa? I need the phone," Sara pointed down the hall at a phone that was hanging on the wall Sara wondered how many phones her sister had.

"Alright," Nyssa didn't know why Sara need the telephone but she didn't ask. Nyssa ran and came back with the black case in her hand, she handed it over to her.

Sara dialed a familiar number and she took a death breath, trying to remain calm.

"Detective Lance," a raspy voice said on the other end.

"I'm gonna tell you this once, so, listen up . . . At your daughters Halloween party tonight, two men were just killed. I suggest that you get the authorities over here and protect her, she's a target for us. Brick, the street runner and gang banger, has a message for you. . ."

"What are you talking about?" Nyssa mouthed to Sara. "Is that your father?"

Sara nodded and pulled a throaty threat from the top of her head, "'We're taking over the Glades, so stay out of my way. . .' I suggest you don't, the fate of your daughter is at stake."

"Laurel?" Detective Lance's voice grew solid as cold stone. "If you so much as touch her, I will rip you, limb from limb."

Sara gulped, "Prove it. She's very beautiful you daughter, sleeping, drunk off her ass. . . Maybe Brick wants to have some fun?"

Sara hung up the phone and wanted to throw up. The thought of her sister being touched by that brick head just made her stomach turn and flip.

"What was that all about?" Nyssa wondered and found that there was a good side of calling her father and telling him that Laurel was in danger. No way could Nyssa keep drunk Laurel upright, moving and safe and help Sara along, as well. Sara knew that and she also knew that since Laurel was in the force of the DA, she would be put into protective custody, out of Brick's reach.

Nyssa and Sara humbled down through the house, took the back door out and around the house to get to the clothing shop sooner.

“You killed two of Brick’s brothers,” Sara whimpered and tried to explain, “he’s gonna come after us.”

“Let him try, he won't get very far,” Nyssa focused eyes was set in stone, so sure that a simple street kid couldn't take her down. There wasn't a doubt in her mind. . .

Nyssa helped Sara limp down the sidewalk, she wanted to hide and sneak around in the shadows like she usually did, but she didn’t know if Sara could handle the bumpy uneven roads of alley ways.  Almost all of Sara’s weight was leaning on Nyssa and Nyssa never knew that Sara had gained back almost all of her natural curves and weight.

Sara clung to a light pole for dear life as Nyssa broke into a store, unlike breaking a window, Nyssa chose the smart way to do it and picked the lock. When Nyssa stood, her task completed, Nyssa opened the door as Sara limped to Nyssa’s open, warm, inviting arms. Nyssa knew that Sara wasn’t fit to walk, but her Canary was blond, stubborn, and thick headed . . . Just like herself.

Sara started to crashed toward the carpeted floor when she didn't reach Nyssa in time. Nyssa swiftly ran toward Sara, already anticipating that Sara's leg would give out. Nyssa caught Sara's torso as she fell, the impact of Nyssa's fleshy arms a lot more comfortable than the floor. Nyssa slowly hobbled Sara into the store and set her on the chair beside the door which was now locked, like when she found it.

Sara caught her breath as Nyssa disappeared to find a first aid kit. Sara looked around and tried to find an outfit that would be easy to slip on, and comfortable to move in.

The black stood out to Sara as she watched, intently, at its design on the manikin. The black leather looked like it could stretch anyway she wanted, but still align and hold up her assets of natural production. The outfit had a hood to pull up and fall over her curls to hide her identity, not that the mask in her hand wouldn’t help with that. There was long sleeves that would cover her arms and she could quickly climb inside as long as she could put the strings through the right leather slotted holes and tie them together at the end. The hooded top had an unique definition of “covering” her chest. The valley of her breasts would be showing if she let the linked metal latch untouched along with the leather ties that tied together in the same sort of red strings as the arms. The pattern reminded her of a wide fishnet crossing like Laurel’s panty hoes. The pattern overlapped the push up bra that mounted her breasts into place. And, that was it, it didn’t cover her stomach – it barely covered the top half of her chest!

For the bottoms was both a skirt and red slicked pants. The skirt had slits in it all the way up to the area below her belly button, where the skirts hem started along with the leggings. There was plain black boots to go along with the outfit and Sara imminently told Nyssa when she got back to go to the manikin grab the clothes and the shoes and bring them back to her.

“This looks awfully comfortable,” Nyssa stated eyeing the wear. “Maybe after you wear it, I’ll steal it away for myself. It is my colors after all. . .”

Sara started to strip down and wiggle out of her pants.

“I need to look at the wound first, Sara, I need to see if it’s a through and through or the bullet is still lodged into the skin,” Nyssa helped Sara out of her pants and opened the first aid container. Nyssa took out the gauze, grabbed the flashlight that was next to the door and pulled Sara’s panties down the slightest to look at the blood soaking them, and her leg.

“You sure about this?” Nyssa asked hesitantly. She didn’t want to hurt Sara anymore than she had to.

“Do it, Ny-” Nyssa applied pressure to the wound on Sara’s hip and she yelped out, lunging her body forward.

Nyssa pushed her shoulder against the back of the chair. “You have to stay back, Sara, I need to see,” Nyssa pleaded. “I should’ve been there sooner, I’ve failed you, I’m so sorry, Sara . . .” Nyssa saw a brown bullet still lodged in the side of Sara’s hip when Nyssa cleaned the blood clotting at her wound. “The bullet is still in there,” Nyssa informed her Ta-er Sah-fer. “I’m gonna give you something; it will dim the pain, alright?”

Sara nodded her head as a tear slipped out the side of her eye. Her tears betrayed her, if she wouldn’t have been crying, then she would’ve had a chance of making Nyssa not feel guilty. Sara’s teeth grinded together, her voice coming out as a strangled moan when Nyssa’s finger pressed back onto her wound, rubbing some kind of plant around in the blood spatters.

“The herbs should become active soon, Sara, just hold on, alright?” Nyssa panicked, the first time in her whole life. She panicked that Sara would leave her, like her mother, she would be left without her friend in the world. The world would be a darker place without Sara’s bright blue crystal chlorine eyes shining.

“Sara,” Nyssa sat back and watched her blond Ta-er Sah-fer gasp and struggle for a breath. “I need to tell you something,” she whispered and pulled out her knife. Nyssa’s hands wouldn’t grasp onto the bullet, her small slender fingers wouldn’t fit through Sara’s wound, the knife was the only instrument that would do.

“You can tell me later, Nyssa,” Sara assured her, “I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.”

Nyssa shook her head and hung it in shame, “There’s a very good chance that you could die from blood loss, Sara…”

Sara barked a laugh, “What a pessimist! I’m not helpless, Nyssa, I’ll get through this, you’ll see.”

Nyssa stared into Sara’s eyes, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because . . .” Sara didn’t know why all of a sudden she was an optimist, she was usually on the other side of the tracks. “Because I have faith in you,” she smiled. “I know that I’m not meant to leave until I figure out the way I feel for you. . . I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but if anything proved that I should stay with you, is the bullet in my side.”

Nyssa would’ve been happy that Sara was staying, if she made it through the All-Natural surgery that she was about to perform with only a few herbs, goze, and a knife. If she did, then Nyssa will jump with joy and sing to the top of her lungs with happiness.

“You can’t have that much faith in me, Sara, I got you wounded,” Nyssa felt like driving the knife into her stomach, but then no one would be around to help Sara.

Later, I will, Nyssa promised Sara’s soul.

“Well, if you got me shot, then I’m glad,” Sara gave her a sloppy grin, “then you made me realize that I never want to go back to my family. I miss them, yeah, of course, but I would miss you more. To them, I’m dead, gone, I’ve haunted Laurel, and I don’t want to do that anymore . . . I want to make sure she lives her life, and I want to do the same in mine. I want to be with you, more than anyone.”

“Why?” Nyssa didn’t know she was crying until a tear left her eye. “Am I that special to you?”

Sara blushed, “You’re the most precious thing in the world to me, Nyssa . . . I like to think we’re linked together.” Sara touched her ring and then pointed to the one under Nyssa’s glove. “These tie us together, and I am getting my jewelry off. I never want to be without you, Nyssa, and I know that I’ve only known you for a couple months, but for the past couple years it has been nothing but fear running through me, and with you . . .” Sara sighed, she wondered if she had the courage to say this out loud. “With you, I feel the exact opposite of fear. I feel loved, welcome, happy and overjoyed to be in your presence, and I don’t ever want to let that feeling go.”

Nyssa giggled and blushed, the first time ever! Sara did the most wonderful things to her, and she didn’t want them to stop. “Sara,” Nyssa smiled and held her hand while she spoke. “I still want to tell you something.”

Sara smiled, the area around her eyes crinkling, “Go ahead.”

“I would love it if you stayed with me, and I think . . .” Nyssa cleared her throat, “I think I’m being to fall for you.”

Sara’s smile fell away and was replaced by a slacked facial expression. “Do you mean it?” Sara whispered, anxious.

“Yes,” Nyssa examined her face to see if her feelings would be returned. “Is that alright?”

“I already love you, Nyssa,” Sara touched Nyssa’s face and pushed back her black silky hair. “I would love it if you cared for me in that way, too. . . Of course, I would be honored to have and own your affection,” Sara smiled and the 100 ton of weights that were on Nyssa’s shoulders was lifted up and off into oblivion.

“Now, since there isn’t much time if you do die, I need to get the bullet out,” Nyssa stood on her knees and showed Sara the  knife.

“What a change in topic,” Sara grimly clutched onto the side of the chair and she closed her eyes, squeezing them shut with as much force as she could. Sara held her breath for the pain to come, and soon, something touched her, but it wasn’t a blade on her stomach . . .

. . . It was a soft and gentle kiss on her lips. . . .


	19. "You're my home...."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Nyssa are still in the clothing store, and Nyssa patches Sara up so that they can go back to Sara's *real* home!

Sara’s lips were stun gunned for a moment as her mind processed what was happening. Nyssa. Al. Ghul. Was. Kissing. _Her!_

Sara arms raised for one hand to wrap around Nyssa’s waist, the other met the back of her head, her fingers tangled in long thick black curls and disappeared in the strands. The feeling of Nyssa pressed against Sara caused all thoughts to go silent in her mind. Nyssa’s tongue skimmed Sara’s bottom lip, begging for entrance, and Sara opened greedily. Their tongues didn’t battle for dominance; they didn’t need to. They simply melded to each other, exploring and tasting, give Sara tingles and chills.

Sara didn’t want Nyssa to pull back, but went she did, she suddenly realized the pain in her hip. Sara touched the side of her thigh and she glanced up at Nyssa, smiling brighter than the sun.

“Didn’t even feel the pain, did you?” Nyssa laughed. “Say ‘Hello’ to Sara, Bullet, Sara say hello to the bullet that was in your hip,” Nyssa placed the bloody bullet in Sara’s white pale hand.

“Hello, to the bullet that was in my hip, you’re a pain in the ass,” Sara handed the bullet back to Nyssa. “You…” Sara cleared her throat, “You just kissed me. Was… Was that because you wanted to take my mind off the pain, or because-“

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do,” Nyssa informed her and tucked the bullet away in her pocket. “I’ve wanted to do a lot more than kiss you for a long time, Sara…”

“Maybe, when I’m healed, you can,” Sara cajoled and Nyssa looked over at Sara.

“You are a lady, Miss Lance, I will treat you like one,” Nyssa grabbed some pills that Willow made. Willow proved that they could put the Lazarus Pit’s water in a liquid pill and it would help them heal sooner. No Assassin was for taking anything but natural drugs, but they all believed her when she told them of the magical powers. “Here,” Nyssa ran to one of the cabinets and broke it open with her elbow. Inside was a chalice that was meant for decoration but Nyssa knew it would hold water from the bathroom sink.

Sara took a gulp and downed the pills, not asking what they were for; she trusted Nyssa with every fiber in her being.

“I will take you out on dates, adventures, and make sure you to dress up so you can feel like Cinderella,” Nyssa grabbed the empty chalice and tossed it aside. Nyssa wrapped the gauze around Sara’s hip, made sure that the bleeding would stop for the time being, and then touched her hand.

Nyssa’s heart did black flips as she linked their fingers together. “I will take things slow, so you don’t feel uncomfortable, I know that this is new for you,” Nyssa was understanding to everything Sara was going through.

Sara shivered, just from holding Nyssa’s hand and she squeezed her slender fingers sweetly.

“I’m all for that,” Sara threw her head back and laughed, “until then, bring me my those pants?”

“I’ll get you some undergarments, too,” Nyssa realized that her blue underwear was soaked and she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“How do you know my size?” Sara asked genuinely.

“I told you,” Nyssa disappeared behind the clothing racks but her voice still projected through the whole shop, “I’ve been attracted to you for a while.”

Sara felt a pull at her gut and she tried to get her mind off what the meaning of that meant. “I… I’m glad,” Sara bit the inside of her cheek and shivered again, suddenly becoming cold.

“And, I’ve seen you naked several times,” Nyssa estimated even though the exact number flashed in her mind.

Sara barked a laugh and said, “Oh, of course, that’s how you know, you stare, don’t you? You can’t just be a good girl and not stare?”

Nyssa came back holding red undergarments, _‘Course they are red,_ Sara thought and took them from Nyssa’s ungloved hand.

“You don’t like good girls,” Nyssa crinkled her nose, positive that Sara liked to get wild, and positive that was an attraction.

Sara’s mouth went dry, “At least I know you’re observant. Do you talk this way to all the other girls that have been in your bed?” Sara was a little jealous, and she kind of liked the way she was already starting to be possessive of Nyssa. However, Nyssa might not like it, but she would have to suck it up…!

“What other girls?” Nyssa frowned but then gave Sara a warm smile that warmed her heart right up.

 

When Sara was dressed all in the black leather, Nyssa whisper boldy, “Great lord above, could you get any more beautiful?”

Sara looked away and took Nyssa’s extended hand. “I think I can walk, actually,” Sara was surprised. “What was in those herbs!? No medicine is this advanced!”

“It’s from Nanda Parbat,” Nyssa explained, “when you take the test to become an assassin, you’ll figure it all out for yourself.”

Sara looked up at Nyssa, “You’ll let me be in your League? What made you change your mind?”

“You did,” Nyssa helped Sara stand, get her balance and then Sara would only halfway lean on Nyssa for support if she needed to. “When I kissed you, I knew that the only way I could know that you were saf _er_ , is if you went through the training and stayed by my side. You’d see horrible things, and I didn’t see the harm in taking the Oath and letting you join. As long as you pass, that is,” Nyssa added as an afterthought.

“Do you think I will?” Sara wondered.

“Yes,” Nyssa nodded confidently. “Keep in mind that it will take you a couple years, Sara, are you alright with that?”

Sara’s eyes twinkled like the stars, “I couldn’t be happier to save your life, for once…”

“You’ll get the chance, trust me,” Nyssa led Sara toward the door and pulled down Sara’s mask. “There,” Nyssa sighed, “now you don’t even need a suit to join my League, you can just wear this one.”

“Are we going back home?” Sara asked.

“’Home’?” Nyssa picked up on the words and Sara shrugged.

“Where ever you are is my home, Nyssa, I could say are we heading back to Nanda Parbat? I don’t care where we go, as long as we go together,” Sara was never so honest and blunt in her whole life, and she had a feeling that she didn’t need to lie about her feelings any longer…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you comment and tell me how you like the kiss!!!!


	20. Chapter Twenty: Welcoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara gets invited to go into the League

Nyssa and Sara caught the first flight over to China, from there, they drove in a rental car to Nanda Parbat. The things that Nyssa did with her hands were indescribable, and they had nothing to do with sex. Common courtesy with opening doors for Sara, pulling out her chair, asking if she needed anything while Nyssa was up and walking around so that Sara wouldn’t have to get up to go get what she needed. Sometimes, Nyssa showed simple affection by placing her hand on Sara’s lower back, or on the inside of her thigh while the black haired beauty drove. Nyssa really was taking things slow, slower than Sara was used to, but it was nice. Easy. Breazy! Sara and Nyssa were always touching, from hand holding, to playing with each other’s hair. It was the small things that mattered more to the girls.

When Sara and Nyssa reached the palace of Nanda Parbat, Nyssa told Sara that they would get started right away. And they did. Sara and Nyssa marched into the long throne room where Ra sat up tall and strong.

“Father,” Nyssa bowed her head in respect but Sara didn’t.

“Hello, Mr. Al Ghul,” Sara nodded at him, but stood up straighter. Some of the League Members around his chair glanced at Sara and wondered if she had a death wish. Why wasn’t she bowing?

“Bend before the Demon,” one Assassin said, which looked like Willow, a woman she met before on her journeys.

“Nope, I’ll pass,” Sara pressed her lips into a grim line and all eyes are on her when she slowly walked up to Ra’s Al Ghul. “Respect, it’s earned, and until I get thrown on my butt in front of every, embarrassed, and have my respect, I won’t bow. I now you can kill me, probably by the time I can blink, but… You’re gonna have to prove it.”

Ra leaned forward in his chair and smiled at the blond girl who was grinning up at him. “You’re very brace, Ms. Lance,” he noted and stood. “Let’s go talk about your future, shall we?”

“After you,” Sara rotated her body so that Ra walked in front of her.

“My daughter’s presence shall not be in the room, Sara, so, say your goodbyes,” Ra waited by the door that opened for both of them.

Sara bowed to Nyssa and a couple people gasped and did so too. “See you soon,” Sara turned on her heels and walked out of the room with Ra.

They walked across stone marble flooring in silence, and into a private library that Sara didn’t remember seeing. Ra opened the door for her, and she was ushered inside.

“To speak to me in such a tone is dangerous, Ms. Lance,” Ra’s whispered and closed the door behind him. “What is it that you want to discuss?”

Sara drew in a deep breath and turned toward Nyssa’s father. “I want to go into training so that I may become apart of your training,” Sara realized how her words were forming out of modern tongue and into the way that the Assassin’s were speaking.

“Why should I grant you this wish?” Ra asked, profiling her features. She was nervous, but it was hidden deep within her eyes, and it wasn’t because she was standing next to a killer.

“Because I think once I learn what you already know, I will be a great asset to your team,” Sara had rehearsed the words, but they didn’t seem sincere when she spoke them aloud.

“There is another reason, I can tell,” Ra leaned against a glass case, easily. “Share with me your thoughts, child?”

Sara sighed, licked her lips, and looked away. “Family,” she started, not knowing how to proceed, “Family is the most important thing in the world, and. . . I almost got my sister killed.” Sara admitted, “I am helplessly weak, and I need to know how to be strong. I need to be strong.”

“Family is important,” Ra concurred with Sara. “But, there is another thing tying you back.”

Sara locked her eyes with his. “Yes, there is. I called Nyssa to my sister’s house, and got shot in the hip. If I was in your League, then I wouldn’t need to have called her. I put her in danger by having her come to the house, an uncessicarry fault in my actions.” Sara’s eyes twinkled in the dimly lit room, “I took your advice, also, and I didn’t label anything.”

Ra nodded and pushed himself off the case to walk up to Sara. He held out his hand to her in a proper agreement. “Then, Sara Lance, Ta-er Al Shafer. . . I, Ra’s Al Ghul, now claim you an initiate into the training to become a League of Assassin member.”

Sara’s mouth went slack and she said, “Really? You sure?”

Ra threw his head back in a laugh, “Yes, Ta-er Al Shafer, I’m fairly sure. . .”

“Thank you!” Sara threw her arms around him and felt his tense immensely. Sara realized her mistake and quickly drew back, “I mean. . . Uh, thanks? Thanks,” she said more confidently and more boldly. “This is where you say, ‘You’re welcome.’”

Ra huffed a laugh and nodded, “You’re very welcome, Sara.”

“I’m going to go tell Nyssa,” Sara slipped from the room and ran down the hallway. She jumped at the last second and tapped her heels together in a giddy gesture. “Yes!” she shouted in a whisper to herself.


	21. Never Giving Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara's strength gets tested, will she stand up and fight, or will she fall?

Sara and Nyssa sat down at the table, Nyssa’s thoughts were abuzz of what to say to her and try and calm her dimmed confused memories.

“So, umm, what else do you want to tell me about us?” Sara sat down in the chair that Nyssa pulled out for her.

“We didn’t need to be told anything for one,” Nyssa smiled at the memories that she and Sara cherished. “I would give you a glance, and you would immediately know what I was trying to talk about. It was the same with you, we were very touchy feely, and it was easy to know each others thought with just a simple gesture.”

The corner’s of Sara’s mouth turned up in a smile, “It seems like we knew each other very well.”

“The best it got,” Nyssa confirmed.

“Nyssa?” Sara asked and watched the dark haired woman’s smile fall. “What’s wrong?”

“You might never be able to remember how well we knew each other,” Nyssa shrugged. “It’s a lot to live with, knowing that my love isn’t returned.”

Sara seeked out the hand that was on top of the table, and laid her long painted nails over Nyssa’s claused ones. “I wouldn’t give up, just yet,” Sara chuckled at Nyssa’s lit up face and Nyssa gave her a firm nod.

“I will never give up on you, Sara,” Nyssa intertwined their fingers.

***

“You ignorant child! Move your oss! Get up! Fight back!” One of many of Sara’s teachers were criticizing her, his accent getting in the way of his cussing. Telling her that she wasn’t fighting hard enough, but she couldn’t fight anymore. She couldn’t raise her arms for another second. Between the lack of sleep, the food diet, the workouts, the stretching, the running, constant muscle exercising, fighting with almost every instrument that there is to man, and going back to school, it was all just too much!

“I’m doing the best I can, Sensi,” she laid back on her stomach and relaxed her sore, bruised, and scarred muscles.

She heard him advance and tensed her body for the worse and Sara shut her eyes, the sun from Nanda Parbat shined down on her eyes, even when they were squeezed closed. “I. . . I can’t do this,” she mumbled to herself. “What was I thinking? This shit is hard as hell, man, I . . . I can’t do this.”

Sara hadn’t seen Nyssa for an entire day, but it felt like months, years even. She craved to see her face and touch her soft olive skin. Rush her fingers through her thick black curls. Sara groaned, just thinking about the woman.

A dark figure covered her vision, making it easier to get some sleep, even though she figured that her stomach was about to get stepped on.

“And here, I thought you were fighting for me,” a soft soothing voice was near her. Really, really, close. Hair fell down and tickled Sara’s nose, her eyes flashed open when lips met her own and she pushed upward, kissing the talented justice seeker back.

“It’s a lot harder that I originally thought,” Sara chuckled.

“Come on,” Nyssa urged her and pulled from her lips. “I’m here now, you can get up,” Nyssa walked around Sara’s sweaty dirty body and offered her a hand.

Sara’s muscles suddenly didn’t feel so weak, they felt fully ready to use. “Okay,” Sara took Nyssa’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up.

“Okay?” Nyssa intertwined their fingers, loving how her presence made Sara stronger.

“Okay,” Sara hipped her partners’ side. “You didn’t need to come so soon, ya’ know, I wasn’t going to give up, just yet.”

“What about in another three seconds?” Nyssa asked looking over at Sara’s tangled hair.

“In another three seconds is a totally different story. I totally would’ve been screaming your name to come and carry me off back into the house,” Sara laughed from her stomach, she laughed so hard it hurt to breathe.

“And here I thought you only screamed my name in my room when I was - Sara, there’s an axe coming you should probably-”

“Nyssa, watch out!” Sara pushed Nyssa’s shoulder as an axe grazed by them. “Sensi!” she screamed. “You could have killed her!” Nyssa giggled as Sara’s rage got the best of her and adrenaline started to kick in.

“It’s the only time when I actually have your attention! I have no idea why you are still here, you are a weak little girl!” Sensi screamed and threw another axe at her which she leaned to the side and dodged easily.

Sara was in the first few weeks of her training still, and had much to learn. “I’m not weak,” she growled.

“Really?” Sensi walked up to her and threw her a boe staff. “Prove it,” he hissed.

Sara looked to her rock, and Nyssa stepped back and gave off numbers of 3, 2, 1… Sensi charged at Sara when Nyssa came to two, and caught Sara off guard.

“Keep your focus, Sara,” Nyssa instructed after she realized that Sara’s attention was elsewhere. “Watch his movements, if you can’t become defensive, become offensive. . . Sensi?” Nyssa attracted his attention, but Sara still didn’t get a good strike in. “Perhaps we should use the more. . .” Nyssa tried to come up with a word for it. “‘Direct’ approach?”

“You sure?” he asked as Sara tried to swipe at his feet but he blocked easily. Nyssa simply nodded. “Alright, I concur,” Sensi threw Sara onto the ground and directed his attention toward Nyssa.

Nyssa stood up taller but relaxed her muscles, she knew from experience that it hurt more if you were tense.

“What are you two doing?” Sara asked and staggered to stand. She saw Sensi start to walk toward Nyssa and knew that this wouldn’t be good. Sensi bent the boe staff up into the air and for a second it looked like he was going to hit Nyssa. Sara knew that wouldn’t be possible, Nyssa was skilled, but he was still going to try and conquer her.

Sensi hit Nyssa across the face and staggered back, blood now oozing from the top of her forehead.

“Sensi!” she screamed and took a leap forward toward where he was standing. “What are you doing?!”

“I’m going to beat Nyssa, until you do something about it,” Sensi looked back at Sara and her wide blue eyes full of fear. For Nyssa. Nyssa was her strength, and her only weakness.

“What?!” Sara screamed and ran toward him. “Nyssa, stop him!” she begged. “Please, Nyssa, I’m not strong enough for this!”

Nyssa’s fist contracted, almost to withhold a punch and to stop herself from fighting back. Sensi hit her all over from the head to ribs, knees, and stomach. Again, and again, and Nyssa sucked it up and didn’t do anything about it.

Sara stood frozen with fear and she shook her head. “You won’t kill her,” she tried to sound sure, but her voice was shaky.

“I don’t follow the League of Assassins, Sara, I’m here on my own free will. I run with the Shadows, and I come and go as I wish. I can’t kill Talia, not Nyssa. I will if I have to, Sara, so don’t question me, or push my hand!” Sensi hit her over and over and Nyssa soon staggered over a rock and fell to the ground on one bended knee.

“Sara,” she spit up blood and Sara bypassed Sensi to run to her side. Sara touched Nyssa’s chin, which was also covered in a bruise, she grimaced and a tear slid down from the corner of her eye.

“I’m sorry, Nyssa, I can’t beat him, I can’t do this…” Sara’s head fell to the ground in shame and disappointment.

Nyssa’s strong bloody arm touched Sara’s shoulder. “Yes,” Nyssa’s gasping breathy voiced soundd sure even though Sara was filled with doubt. “You can do this, I believe in you.”

“You’re belief is misplaced, Nyssa,” Sara’s lower lips wobbled in failure.

“Sara, it’s not,” Nyssa looked up at Sensi.

Sensi’s words boomed in the back of her brain as others from around the training area stopped to look at Sara’s final move. I will kill her, Sensi said, unless you do something about it…

“Sara, I will never give up on you, and now is the time that you need to not give up on yourself,” Nyssa’s usually slicked back silky hair was now in fuzzy and tangled mess.

Sara examined Nyssa’s eyes and saw within the darkness the shining stars, the ones that were so brightly lit and twinkling with pride.

“You can do this, Sara, you aren’t weak,” Nyssa swallowed down some blood and grimaced a little bit. Definitely not her favorite taste in the whole world... “You have an inner strength no one here can fathom, you have to stop living by two names and choose which path you are going to take.”

“What does that mean?” Sara asked with narrowed eyes.

“It means that you can either continue to be the Sara Lance that died on that ship, or you can step into the shoes of Ta-er al Shafer…. It’s all up to you, now, but it’s time you make your choice,” Nyssa pushed Sara out of the way so that Sensi could her again.

“Nyssa!” Sara hit the ground and bumped her head, but she could put ice on it later. “Stop it!” she screamed and forced herself to her feet and ran up to Sensi.

Sensi didn’t stop until Sara’s hand gripped his shoulder, in which he pivoted on one foot to strike her. Sara saw the boe staff coming her way, and reached up in a defensive manner. Sara’s hand wrapped around the staff that slammed into her palm and at the same time Sara’s other hand grabbed the other end of the staff to give a strong pull.

Sensi didn’t let her have the boe easily, but he loosened up once he realized that she had made her choice. Sara flipped both the staffed around in her hands and she used both of them with struggled skill. After useless swipes, Sara went back to being defensive when he stepped toward Nyssa again. Sensi came too close and it gave Sara the opening she was looking for.

Sara hit him once in the ribs, once in the head and for good measure, once in the throat.

“I told you,” Sara gasped and jogged to Nyssa’s side to try and tend to her wounds. “You should’ve stopped,” Sara eyes were full of darkness, and she realized that the only way she could be saved, was if she started to learn that a good defense is a great offense.

Sara helped Nyssa to her feet and other soldiers came and helped carry Nyssa to the healing tent where there was herbs that she could take that would help her heal faster.

When Nyssa was near the tent, she stopped and turned. With a shout, she screamed, “Let’s hear it for our new recruit!”

“Hooah!” they screamed in unison. “Hooah!”

Sara couldn’t help but feel the pride build up in her chest. She dropped her weapons and thrusted one fist up into the air to scream with them. _“HOOAH!”_

And, that’s how she first got accepted into her true family...


	22. Family Visitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sara tries to heal Nyssa, they get a surprise visitor...

In their small cabin, Sara pressed a wet warm cloth to the top of Nyssa’s temple to soak the blood away. She didn’t understand why Nyssa went through what she went through, just to make Sara fight better! Couldn’t Nyssa just say, “Hey, girl, hold up! I got somethin’ to tell ya’ – you’re an offensive fighter, and I have a plan to make you fight better, but it’s gonna rain in pain, so I don’t really want to do it… But I will if I have to – for you. I just think that I’d spare myself all this pain if we used our tounge to communicate.”

Sara doubted that Nyssa was gonna say that, ever, though. Sara draped the cloth back into the water and squeezes it out, and reapplies it to Nyssa’s cold skin.

“Sara,” Nyssa licked her cracked bloody lips, “there is really no need for this.”  
  
“Of course there is,” Sara shook her head and dabbed the cloth on Nyssa’s lower lip. The more places Sara looked, the more injuries she seemed to find on her love! “You got beaten to the pulp to prove a point, Nyssa; it’s the least I can do.”  
  
“You know what you can do?” Nyssa touched Sara’s hand that housed the wet dripping cloth and held her wrist still. “You can take my mind off the pain some _other_ way…”  
  
Sara threw her head back and laughed. She touched and unbruised spot on Nyssa’s skin and pushed her back lightly. “Nyssa? Are you flirting with me?” Sara “gasped” in shock. “What would your father say?”  
  
“I am fit to be Heir of the Demon’s Head, Sara,” Nyssa leaned forward and rubbed the bridge of her nose against Sara’s. In a whisper, she said, “I think he trusts my judgment.”  
  
Sara smiled mischievously, "Well, then, what happened to taking things slow, Ms. Al Ghul?"  
  
"We did buy a cabin to have some privacy in, Sara. I think it's safe to say we are taking things at a slow _jog_ ," Nyssa stared into Sara's clear blue eyes. "But, you are right, my dear – we don't have time."  
  
Sara frowned, "Why not?" She was actually starting to look forward to spending some alone time with Nyssa. Sara hadn’t had much free time in the weeks she had been training, and when they did spend time together it was in bed (sleeping) or when it wasn’t in their down time, it was out on the field – fighting. If they weren’t together, Nyssa was doing business in another country, or going over paper work for Ra. Although Sara and Nyssa lived together, they saw little of each other.  
  
"The feast?" Nyssa examined Sara's face and how it fell at the mention of it. "You forgot," Nyssa didn't need to guess, that was clear to her.   
  
Sara’s confused eyes cleared with recognition. "Only a little," Sara faked a forgiveness smile. "What?” Sara tried to escape Nyssa’s narrowed eyes. “You're very distracting...”

“You’re _more_ distracting with your big blue eyes,” Nyssa ran her thumbs under Sara’s fluttered closed eyes, “blond curly hair,” Nyssa gripped the back of her head, “beautiful-“

“Okay!” Sara pulled away and exhaled sharply, “If there’s a feast tonight, then you can’t do that.”

“Do what?” Nyssa asked, innocently.

“Tell me I look beautiful!” Sara laughed and turned back around to press the cloth to her temple. “ _That’s_ distracting, and I have to get us both ready to look beautiful.”

“Are you saying I don’t look beautiful, now?” Nyssa joked, lightly.

“You look beautifully beat up and bruised, but still…” Sara grimaced, “If your father sees any of this, then he’ll have my head,” Sara tried to stop the bleeding from Nyssa’s… _everything_. “I’ll be like those people who have their heads on those pikes out in front of castles in the old ages! . . . . I don’t think I’m that skilled with a makeup brush, anyhow.”

“From what I hear, you’re not very skilled in anything,” a voice in the small cabin said quietly.

Sara turned in front of Nyssa and acted like a shield for them both. “Who the hell are you?” Sara demanded to know.

Nyssa leaned to the side and looked at who was standing in the middle of their kitchen and her whole body froze. “Sara, stay back,” she warned with a fierce tone. “What are you doing here?” Nyssa shot to her feet, and with a quick shove, she pushed Sara to the side of her.

A woman appeared in the shadows. She tucked a loose black hair piece behind her ear, the rest of her hair was pulled up and out of her face twisted and braided to look nice for the feast tonight. The woman’s eyes were clear blue, outlined in thick black eyeliner, and black mascara. She was white, with a strong jaw that looked a lot like Nyssa’s and she shared the same nose, too.

The woman was decorated in a two piece red gown. It was knee length and had a split up the thigh. Sara had to admit in her head that she looked badass it her getup.

Sara heard gasp of pain come from the woman, and she wondered what had Nyssa so on edge.

The woman’s lips spread in a smug smile and she crossed her arms, “Is that anyway to treat _family_?”

Sara’s mouth moved in an echo, “Family?” Surprise and shock hit her like a ton of bricks and Sara looked up to Nyssa to see if she was telling the truth. “Family,” she repeated and tried to get Nyssa’s attention but Nyssa’s eyes were cold and dead set on her…

 _Cousin?_ Sara thought. She knew that her sister and Nyssa weren’t on speaking terms and from what everyone had told her, Nyssa’s sister didn’t have the guts to come anywhere near her sister’s orbit.

“Well, uh,” Sara fumbled for something to say, “I guess… It’s nice to meet you…?”

“No,” Nyssa snapped, her thick accent clear in the tone of her voice. “It’s not. You’re not welcome here, and you know it,” Nyssa growled in a deadly voice.

The unasked term for the woman’s name was noticeable and recognized. “I’m so sorry that I haven’t stopped by sooner, Sara.,” she ignored Nyssa and walked closer to Sara and stuck out her hand. The woman introduced herself with class and an evil glint in her eye, “My name is Taila al Ghul, daughter of Ra al Ghul, Princess of the Shadows.”


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: Getting Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Nyssa get ready for the feast and share some threats with her sister....

 

Sara's whole facial expression went slack. Sara's greeting hand was almost out to meet Talia's, but her hand fell as if it was as heavy as gold. Sara's feet backed away from Talia, suddenly understanding why Nyssa was acting so cold towards her sister. She was a cold blooded killer.

 

"Shouldn't you be at the feast?" Nyssa asked, curtly.

 

"Should you be getting ready?" Talia fired back.

 

"Shouldn't you be out of our home?" Sara stepped up to the plate and steadied her voice into a cold dead tone.

 

Talia took a small step forward and narrowed her black cold eyes. "Are you threatening _me?"_

 

Sara bluntly pointed out, "When I'm threatening you, you'll know."

 

"Apparently you need to be taught a lesson on common respect, girl," Talia's feet moved toward Sara in warning movement.

 

"I think that you know I don't threaten," Nyssa stood up tall and fearless and got directly in her sisters face. "I make promises, and if you don't leave in the next three seconds, I'll break your legs so you won't be able to ever enter a house again." Nyssa's eyes didn't waver as Talia stared directly back again at her sister.

 

"There are many paths to get to a place, Nyssa," Talia warned and backed up. "You know I'll get Sara alone one day and you won't be there to protect her."

 

Sara didn't mention she already had the chance to kill her, why didn't she?

 

"Today isn't that day," Nyssa cocked her head to the side. "Who knows, maybe by midnight tonight I'll get you alone and no one will be there to protect _you."_

 

There was a thread of silence in the air that was dangerous and tension filled. Talia cocked a grin at the last second and disappeared out of their house.

 

Sara expelled a deep breath of air that was trapped in her lungs, a breath she didn't know she was holding.

 

Sara knew that Nyssa was tense and trying to bring back their normalcy, she put Talia being in the middle of their home from her mind and went to the closet to pull out some of the clothes that they would wear to the bouquet. After rummaging through Nyssa's and Sara's shared closet, Sara found a yellow number with straps along the shoulder line and a tie in the middle of the chest. There was a slit that was professionally made under where the breasts where and another slit up the thigh. Sara turned back around to face Nyssa, and she could tell that Nyssa was still upset.

 

"You should wear this for the feast tonight," Sara held out the yellow dress to her beloved and tried to change the subject.

Nyssa seemed to relax the slightest and her eyes softened. "Thank you, Sara. I'm sorry that you had to witness my rude behavior."

Sara shrugged and kissed Nyssa's cheek. "I don't mind, I just hope that you two can find some common ground. I know what it's like having a sister who thinks she's better than you."

 

Nyssa placed a kiss on Sara's temple and started to get ready. After sharing the bathroom for a while - singing, laughing, and sharing smiles - Nyssa left to put on the dress and retrieve the shoes to match. Yellow wasn't exactly Nyssa's color, but she would wear it because Sara asked her to. Red, black, brown, green - all yes's. Not yellow. Nyssa took the dress off the hook and threw it on.

 

Red gloss painted Nyssa's lips and simple makeup was placed on her face. Nyssa's hair was in an up-do pony tail with purposeful locks of hair coming down to frame her face.

 

Sara was still in the bathroom and doing the last touchup on herself. Her dress was already on, a silky black dress that concealed the knife holster on her thigh. She curled back the last piece of her own hair, and walked out of the bathroom.

 

She saw Nyssa curled up in a chair at the corner of the room, a light shining down on her, making her look like even more of the angel than she already was. Sara took in her straightened, professional posture with her head tilted to the side. It told Sara that she was deeply engulfed within their book, and she wondered what part she was reading.

 

Sara's placed hand knocked on the wood of the door frame. "Hey, Angel, you ready to go?" Sara smiled at her best friend and watched Nyssa's eyes read as much as she could before Sara would've thought it rude.

 

Nyssa's eyes tore away from the page, and she regretted that she didn't do it sooner. Sara's hair was curled in a beautiful frenzy, eyes outlines in thick mascara and eyeliner. Nyssa thought she looked fierce and dangerous, and that she innocence was washed away with just some cosmetics. Nyssa's eyes traveled the length of Sara's body and stopped where the fabric of the dress deepened down between the valley of her breasts, showing off what she was growing back - what Ivo, the Island, and starvation stole from her. She wasn't her full size of a C yet, but with healthy food and exercise, she was getting there.

 

Nyssa couldn't have cared less whether Sara filled her bra, Sara was perfect just the was she was, but looking attractive was important to Sara and her happines - and all Nyssa wanted was for Sara to be happy, therefore it was important to Nyssa, too.

 

Sara pouted and tilted her head to inspect Nyssa's dress, the way the open back made her mind wander to different times and places where their lips were pressed together.

 

Sara went over to their closet and pulled out a pair of black pumps. Bending over and down to grab them, Sara suddenly had all of Nyssa's attention with the simple bend of her hips.

 

"When it is convient for you, I will be ready," Nyssa replied, sweetly still admiring the view.

 

Sara slipped her feet into the shoes and realized what Nyssa was doing and blushed slightly. "On second thought, Nyssa, I don't think you should wear that dress," Sara said, trying to moisturize her suddenly dry mouth.

 

"Sara?" Nyssa pointed out with a small smile, "You're the one that wanted me to wear this."

 

And, at the time, Sara did. She was thinking about how stunning Nyssa was look in it - which she did - and how great it would be when it was time to come and take the dress off of her.

 

"It's really revealing," Sara pouted as Nyssa stood and faced her.

 

"Well, you're one to walk," Nyssa smiled and walked toward Sara with mysterious grace. "You could tempt the thoughts of the Pope, devil now has his soul from the sin you've delievered onto this earth with just a glance,"

 

"I know, but I just now realized that they're will be other people there, and it shows a lot of beauty marks that are for my eyes only," Sara knew that Nyssa hated being told what to do, and she didn't like disrespect, so to make sure that Nyssa would take the matter lightly, she winked at her partner and saw Nyssa smile in return.

 

Nyssa softly swipped Sara's nose in a playful matter. She promised with every ounce of her soul, "Always, my darling. Always am I only yours."


End file.
